Memoirs of a Loner
by TheReaper999
Summary: Seven years after graduation, Hachiman 'Eight' Hikigaya receives an invitation from Hayama for a high school reunion. "Why not...", the Task Force Black sniper decides as he waits for his exfil. All chapters revised and edited.
1. Chapter 1

**1**

* * *

 **Exfil**

* * *

The most anticlimactic graduation ever. Those were the perfect words to describe it. In the third year, Yuigahama confessed to Hachiman. "No," he said lifelessly. "What you feel, Yuigahama, is not love. It is nothing but merely the naïve sense of bonding you feel just because we share a few memories that can be described as 'fun' by riajuus like you. We are nothing more than clubmates. Heck, I even regret asking for something _genuine_ from you." Even the airheaded Yuigahama didn't fail to notice the sense of disdain in his voice. "Sorry to 'break your heart' as you would say it, but you should know better than anyone… I am scum. I'd probably do nothing but bring misery to your life anyway, so it truly is for the best that we continue with our own lives as we always have and ignore anything like this happened. I'm gonna head back to class."

She stood there silently watching his receding back as little water droplets fell near her feet. Nothing had ever been the same since then. On graduation day, as everyone was celebrating the end of their youth, and making empty promises about keeping in touch, he simply walked out onto the roof. He closed his eyes while feeling the cool breeze against his face.

 _Finally out of this hellhole of a school_ , he thought. A faint scent of tobacco hit him, followed by a sweet voice that he had somewhat gotten attached to during the school year.

"In the end, you were the winner huh?" said his violent, single homeroom teacher.

"The hell are you talking about, sensei?"

"The bet, you fucking moron. Don't tell me you forgot all about it." As his mind raced through all the memories that he had with his teacher, it finally landed on the day he was first introduced to the service club.

"Oh, that one. Yeah, I knew no one could change me except myself. I refuse to change for others' convenience. That's how I was, that's how I am, and that's how I will stay," he declared with a hint of confidence that was never there 2 years ago. Ironically, he himself hadn't realized how much the people around him had influenced him.

"Well, whatever," said Shizuka. Although Hachiman has failed to see the changes in his own character, his teacher could clearly see how much more confident the boy- no… the young man had become. His slouching posture was gone. Those frail limbs and that weak body were replaced by a manlier looking physique. "aren't you going to bid farewell to Yuigahama and Yukinoshita?"

"Don't need to. They probably hate me anyway. Not like I care…" Shizuka showed a sad smile as she saw him walking towards the door. Though before he left, he muttered in a voice barely loud enough to be heard by her, "If only you were ten years younger, sensei…"

 _If only you were ten years older…_ she wanted to say, but her thoughts went unheard. No point in wishing for the impossible.

That was almost seven or eight years ago – he couldn't remember properly. Now, he thought about what to do about the high school reunion invitation sent to him by Hayama Hayato.

"To attend or not to attend. That is the question." He muttered to himself as he waited for the chopper to come to pick him up from the cave he was waiting in, in Iraq in the middle of nowhere. Although he kept thinking about it, his attention didn't waver from the mountain range that he carefully surveyed through the scope of his trusted AS50 sniper rifle. He had named it Falcon. The mission was to extract a high-value target for interrogation and if not possible, then assassinate him. If possible, also sabotage enemy operations. He worked as a sniper for the most elite and secretive special forces unit in the world. The unit worked exclusively for the joint operations task force comprising of members from the CIA of US, MI-6 of UK, KGB of Russia, PSIA of Japan, and RAW of India, conducting assassinations, and gathering intelligence against the threats in this world. Their unit was called: Task Force - 88 (TF-88). He looked over to his dead spotter and chuckled. "What a stupid way to die… shot in the head, through the scope." Even though they had been working together for 9 months now, they didn't even know the faces of each other, let alone their names. After all, they all wore masks on their faces 24/7. That explained just how secretive their unit was. Hachiman's code name was Eight. While he was reminiscing about his high school life, his earpiece crackled.

"[Command to Eight. Breaking radio silence. Do you copy?]"

"Command, come in."

"[Chopper inbound on your position. 15 seconds out. Pop smoke.]"

"Roger that."

Hachiman pulls out a smoke grenade, pulls the pin, and tosses it out about twenty meters from his position. Red smoke starts coming out immediately and rises into the air giving the pilot an accurate idea of where to land.

Within seconds, enemy machine guns start rattling. Hachiman looks through the spotter scope and reads the distance and wind direction. He compensates accordingly on his rifle and starts picking the targets off. The radio crackles again.

"[Eight. Watch your head. LZ is too hot.]"

"So? Why do I watch my head?"

There was a small giggle from the other side, followed by,

"[You'll see]"

"Great. What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he muttered to himself. All of a sudden, he saw the side of the mountain opposite to him go off in smoke. Then he heard a sound which sounded like a series explosion detonated all together but not exactly at the same time. And then he heard the all too familiar BRRRRRRRRRT. It finally dawned on him.

"Joe, you crazy bastard, you sent in A-10s*?! You stupid or what?"

'[Hehehe, did you like it?]"

"Bitch I loved it!" he said while grinning from ear to ear. It was always music to the ears hearing the American A-10s. That thing wasn't a gun mounted on a plane. No no no. It was a plane, mounted on a gun. It was a goddamn flying gun.

Within five seconds a formation of two Chinooks* and an Osprey* came into sight. They landed right on top of the smoke and opened their hatches. American soldiers flooded out of the Chinooks and took defensive positions all around Hachiman. He slowly stood up, packing up Falcon, and started walking towards the Osprey. "Oh wait…" he turned around as he remembered his dead spotter. "Gotta make sure to take you along." Their squad's policy was to prioritize the mission over the man. That's why he had to leave behind his dead comrades lots of times. Most of the times, with a bomb planted on them, so if enemy soldiers found them, they could be blown up in a suicide/martyr attack. He gripped the collar of the spotter with his right hand and held his rifle, and the spotter scope in his left as he started walking again, dragging the guy with him. Many soldiers who saw that clicked their tongues in response.

 _Really? I've been accustomed to people being disgusted by me since elementary school. This ain't gonna affect me bruh_ , he thought as he continued walking.

Two medical unit soldiers and an old looking soldier stepped off the Osprey. The medical personnel took away the dead spotter. The old man held up a tablet. Without saying a word Hachiman lifted his right hand and put it on the tablet. All TF-88 operatives had to go through a palm print scan before returning back to base. Although the security was tight, Hachiman still thought it was overkill. The tablet beeped and showed a green screen. Silently, he got on the Osprey and flew back to base while deciding to go to the reunion.


	2. Chapter 2

**2**

* * *

 **Farewell**

* * *

The Osprey finally arrived back at the base. As he stepped off, Hachiman was greeted by his teammates. At least, the ones who were still alive. They were a team of seven.

The leader;  
The second in command;  
The specialist;  
The explosives expert;  
The sniper;  
The spotter;  
The strategist.

Only 4 returned, including himself. There was never a mission from which all of them returned alive. Out of all of them Hachiman had been on the team for the longest amount of time, only topped by the leader of TF-88, mainly because he never hesitated with shit like morals and values. If he had to leave a comrade behind for the sake of the mission, he'd do it without a second thought. It seemed like "The Logic Monster" was the perfect name for him.

"Eight! You're alive!", said the specialist. She was the most cheerful of them all, usually reminding Hachiman of a certain pink-haired airheaded girl. Everyone suspected she had a thing for him.

"What are you talking about girl? As if 'The Logic Monster' would die that easily. Am I right, Eight?" said the explosives expert in a thick Russian accent.

"Hmm? Where's spot?" asked the leader. He was the one who had been here before any of them joined. The nicest, sincerest, most sociopathic guy on the team. Hachiman truly respected him. Whenever they asked him how long he had been in the TF-88, he would simply laugh and say, "Long enough to start enjoying my job!"

"Yo." Hachiman's usual greeting still hadn't changed. "Spot's in the Osprey… In a body bag."

"Dayum... How'd he die?" Asked the specialist curiously. This was the kind of team the TF-88 was. No shame. They wouldn't hesitate to talk about anything, although they would always be very careful about revealing personal details.

"Dumbass got shot through the spotter scope. He forgot to put the non-reflective cloth over the scope, so they probably saw the sunlight glint off it." Everyone was taken aback. And then, a few seconds later, "Pfft... AHAHHAHAHHAHAHA" Yep. No shame.

"Ah man, that was good. I needed that. Chessy got shot too but it was a boring ass headshot," the Russian said, talking about their strategist.

"What about the 2IC?" Hachiman asked.

"He got shot like 30 times and couldn't move so we blew him. Well, at least he got 13 more confirmed kills to his name." answered the specialist nonchalantly. "Nee Eight, how many kills did you get today?"

"53 in total. 37 in the compound, the rest in the mountain. But sadly, Spot's dumbass decided to bail on me, so I can't register it on my name now." Hachiman said with a tinge of regret in his voice.

"Eight," the leader called out to him. Hachiman turned to face him.

"I trust you. You can go register them." He said with a sweet smile on his face. "Ah! That reminds me. CO wants you in his office. On the double."

"… Thanks Ghost! Love ya! I owe ya one!" Hachiman said as he took off towards the CO's office with a sprint.

"Laters!" All of them yelled as they waved.

"On my life, he's deadass the most cheerful guy on this team… and he's not even fucked up like me. What the hell has he been through?" said Ghost.

"Ghost, English please?"

"Ah! Ahahaha. My bad, my bad, styll," Ghost said, waving away their concern

 **...**

Hachiman arrived outside the CO's office.

Knock, knock, knock. "Who?" came a gruff voice from inside.

"Eight, sir."

"Enter."

The CO tended to talk as little as possible. Hachiman entered and saluted. "Hmm." said the CO. He was also known as the most informal, and the most qualified man in their detachment. All for a good reason too. After all, completing Sniper School, becoming a fighter pilot, being a leader of two different Spec Ops teams, being one of the greatest hackers in the world (not to mention being labelled by the CIA and NSA as an 'asset equally valuable to a whole battalion'), all before the age of 40 was no mean feat.

He pointed at a chair. "Sit."

"Thank you, sir." Hachiman couldn't help but feel the killing intent oozing out of him. His presence was almost on par with that of Shanks.

"Eight. You're taking a vacation," the CO commanded. "Now." He added.

"I'm sorry? Sir?" Hachiman asked while clearly baffled.

He let out a deep sigh before speaking again, and this was the longest sentence Hachiman had ever heard from him. "Listen son, you've been in the TF-88 for almost too long now. You're not even a sociopath like Ghost and you're still completely unfazed by all of this. You need a break. War can drive a man mad, and it's honestly a miracle you're still sane. You're getting on the plane back to Japan in 6 hours. We've prepared a fake story for you for the whole – what is it? 7? 6? Whatever – years you were in service. Study it on the plane. Get home, and have some I & I."

"I and I?" Hachiman asked with his brain slowly processed all the information. The CO smirked.

"Intoxication and Intercourse. Now, get out. Shoo!" As he said that, he pushed Hachiman out the door.

 _Hold… The fuck up_ , Hachiman thought. _What the hell just happened? I'm going home… Back to Chiba. To my parents. To Komachi._

Hachiman's hands trembled at the thought of meeting his sister once more. Yes, he was a sis-con. No, he didn't give a shit what the others thought. Hachiman took a few deep breaths as he slowly calmed himself. He was a killing machine, dammit! He wasn't supposed to have tears in his eyes… EVER!

He quickly made his way towards his barracks to start packing. After all, the flight was departing within 6 hours.

"Okay, let's see. What do I take?" he muttered as he started packing his clothes first. Then came his books. Then the pictures of his squad. All the TF-88 operators had their faces fully covered but he could still easily tell each one apart. Lastly, he took his rifle with him. TF-88 operators had the special privilege of keeping their weapons with them, which showed how elite they were, and how much trust their country put in them.

"Hey Eight!" the specialist yelled cheerfully as she looked her head around the corner.

"Sup Snow? What brings you here?" Hachiman asked in an unusually happy tone.

"I… I heard you were going back home." She asked trying to fake the cheerfulness and secretly hoping it was just a rumor. Hachiman could easily tell the shifts in her tone.

Snow's heart sank when she heard him say, "That's right. After years being away from home."

"…"

"What?"

"Nothing!"

"Snow. What is it?"

"I'll miss you. That's what it fucking is." She yelled with a voice mixed in sadness and anger.

Hachiman sighed loudly. "You know you're not supposed to." he replied sincerely.

"I know…" she whispered. "Hey Eight. This will probably be the last time we'll be seeing each other, right? After this, you'll probably get transferred to an even more elite top-secret team, won't you?"

"Most likely, that will be the case."

"Y'know, before I came here, I promised myself to live my life without regrets. Will you please look at me, Eight?"

As Hachiman turned to look at her, she quickly moved towards him. Her hands moved towards the side of his head, quickly wrapping then around his neck and pulled him into a kiss. Even though there were two layers of latex masks between their lips, they could still feel each other's warmth. They could still feel the emotions transmitted between that kiss. It lasted about ten seconds. She quickly pulled away and ran out the door crying. He knew he was never going to see her again, and he had absolutely no regrets.

 **...**

"Been a pleasure working with you, Eight." Ghost said as he and Hachiman were standing on the tarmac before boarding the C-17 Globemaster.

"Likewise, Ghost," Hachiman said with a true smile. I really was an amazing experience working under a leader like Ghost. A moment of silence passed between them before Hachiman spoke once more. "Yo, bro… Could you… uh… Could you please do me a favour? Can you please tell Snow that I'm sorry. I-" Hachiman began, but Ghost cut him off.

"She couldn't keep her feelings in check. We've all made it till here because we've learned to supress our desires… Honestly, I don't think she'll make it back from our next mission. Either way, ya ain't gotta worry bout that shit fam." Hachiman wanted to refute, but deep in his heart he knew Ghost had a point. They were trained to become killing machines. Feelings of love and friendship would've just gotten in the way of their missions. After all, you would never be able to abandon a comrade in need if you loved them. Ghost put his hand on Hachiman's shoulder. "Live your life to the fullest, Eight. You're finally free from this hellhole of a place."

Hachiman felt a sense of déjà vu from hearing those words. He turned around and started walking up the ramp of the Globemaster. "Later Ghost!" he waved to his leader as the ramp started closing.

"Hey Hikigaya!" Hachiman froze.

 _Huh? What? Who?_ He thought as his mind raced to sort out the information.

"If you meet Haruno at the reunion, tell her I'll be back for her in a year," Ghost requested. He turned around and started walking back to base.

"Wha- WAIT!" Hachiman scrambled to ask him, but he was too late as the hatch closed and the Globemaster lurched forward. "Wha- What the hell? He… knows me? And Haruno? He doesn't mean… Yukinoshita Haruno. Does he?" he muttered to himself as he made his way back to the seat and the military jet got ready to take off. He calmed down and looked out the small circular window of the quickly ascending airplane.

In the end, Hachiman could only utter six words. "Who the hell are you, Ghost?"


	3. Chapter 3

**3**

* * *

 **A New Mission**

* * *

Krrrssshh, fssshhhh, came a sound from the wheels as the Globemaster landed, abruptly waking Hachiman from his much-needed slumber. Anyone would need at least six hours of sleep after staying awake for 39 hours straight. Even if it's the most elite sniper in the world.

Hachiman looked out the small circular window as the flying fortress came to a stop after taxiing to a special area, somewhere in Kadena Air Force base in Okinawa. After doing some light stretches, he exited the airplane while thanking the pilots. _Ghost…_ he still couldn't get his mind off that last sentence. _AH! FUCK IT! I'll find out later._

A young private came and greeted Hachiman. "H- Hello Sir!" He yelled as he stood completely at attention while saluting.

"Hm?" Hachiman questioned as he saw the man standing rigidly in front of him. Then, it finally clicked. "Ah! Right. I forgot you guys were so formal here." Hachiman said as he ran his fingers through his hair. "Well, whatever. Chill out."

"Y- Yes sir! My name is Private Ito Utamura! I will be guiding you to the JSOC office!" said the private nervously.

"Cool. Lead the way." Said Hachiman as he couldn't be arsed to give a crap about formalities. They walked side by side in silence. Hachiman noticed that Ito was oddly fidgety and thus he inquired, "You okay buddy? You seem nervous."

"Ah! I- I'm incredibly sorry sir!" he apologized profusely. "It's just…" the private trailed off, too scared to voice his thoughts.

"What?" asked Hachiman.

"You… You have your face covered."

"And?"

"That means that you're an operator of one of the most elite teams, right? One that we don't even know of." Explained the private with a hint of admiration and jealousy in his voice.

Hachiman scoffed. These guys thought it was cool, badass, fun. They didn't know jack shit. "It's not as good as it seems, bud. After all, what could be fun about a job where you have to abandon your friends on the battlefield?" Hachiman said calmly.

The private seemed distraught and terrified and continued walking silently towards the JSOC office. "Here we are, sir. Please excuse me." The private said as he bowed and quietly left.

Hachiman lifted his hand and put it on the green panel as it started scanning it. BEEP! Then he looked into the retina scanner. BEEP! Then he picked up the glass stick that came out of a slot and skillfully licked it without revealing his face from under the mask. A few seconds after he inserted it back in, there came a BEEP! and a sexy computerized voice, followed by the 6-inch blast-proof door that slowly slid open. "Welcome back to the Joint Special Operations Command Center, Lieutenant Colonel. Please enjoy your stay." The voice didn't say his name, mainly because of the TF-88 security on all his personal data.

"Tch. I **still** think it's overkill," Hachiman muttered to himself as he entered. He wasn't exactly wrong. After all, having such a huge facility 2.5 kilometers underground, with 5 feet thick walls to provide protection against nuclear attacks, and STILL having an internet speed of 7.5 GB/s was definitely overkill. He observed his surroundings as he walked towards the Colonel's private office. Even here, his distinct all-black uniform and black mask turned heads. He smirked as he heard the soldiers whisper.

"N- No way! That's…"

"It can't be, right?"

"So, they were real…"

"The rumoured Task Force Black."

Task Force Black. That was the second name for the TF-88. The soldiers that worked in the JSOC only knew the name: TF-Black. Nothing else. Hachiman arrived outside the Colonel's office and knocked.

"Come in," came a tired voice from inside.

Hachiman opened the door stepped inside and firmly closed it. He set his baggage and his rifle down and stood at attention.

"Lieutenant Colonel Hikigaya Hachiman reporting, sir!" He said as he executed a perfect salute.

"At ease. Glad to have you back, man. Have a seat," said the Colonel with a smile.

"Glad to be back, sir." Hachiman sat down and was taken over by a feeling of euphoria. After god knows how many months he finally got to sit in a proper comfy chair. All the chairs back at base were wood and metal. The only thing close to a cushion you could find were the three-inch-thick mattresses that his team slept on.

"You're not going to be assigned to another team for at least the next three or four years," announced the Colonel with a sincere tone.

"…" Hachiman was taken aback, his mouth agape with a multitude of emotions swirling through his head. Although he was a perfect killing machine, he still wasn't completely devoid of emotions. Surprise, bewilderment, despair, anger. After 3 seconds had passed, he was livid. "Sir, with all due respect, what the fuck?!"

"Language, Hikks. Calm down," the Colonel stated with assertiveness. He was expecting this.

"Sir. This is my salvation. This is who I am. I've been doing this for fuck knows how long! THREE YEARS?! I'm gonna go crazy…" Hachiman was almost begging now. "What the hell did you scout me for. All the way back in fucking high school. When someone finally told me they needed me, did you know how fucking happy I was? And now you're just going to throw me away just like that?" Without even realizing he had risen and was now standing, and although he said so much, he never rose the volume of his voice.

The Colonel calmly stood up from his seat, walked around his desk, and stopped just two feet in front of Hachiman. The next thing Hachiman saw was the Colonel's powerful as hell right hook. Hachiman's eyes rolled back for a microsecond as he basically flew through the air landed on the other wall. What's worse was that the Colonel's office was practically made of glass except for the wall behind his chair. That meant that almost everyone could see Hachiman getting clocked by him. Embarrassing as it was, he deserved it.

"Get a grip, Hikks. I said you were taking a break. Never did I say we didn't need you. We need still need you just as much as we needed you back when we scouted you." The Colonel said with authority.

He walked back behind his desk and waited for Hachiman to regain his bearings. "Remember when we came to ask you to join us. We pulled you out of homeroom, and when we explained everything, you were practically jumping in joy." The Colonel broke down into laughter, while Hachiman blushed slightly, realizing his mistake. He stood up promptly and bowed deeply.

"Please excuse my rude behaviour, sir. I accept all disciplinary measures."

"At ease, soldier. I understand. Ten years of killing people can do that. Just be careful next time." He waved it off. "Now listen carefully," the Colonel began. "You're temporarily transferred to the CIA, Japan branch." He clicked a button underneath his desk and all the glass turned black. This way, they had complete and utter privacy. "Take your mask off. I going to start briefing you on your new mission." Hachiman did as he was told and sat down in his chair. Taking his mask off after months straight, felt like nirvana to Hachiman. The Colonel stared for a bit too long.

"What?"

"Ahem. Nothing. You've become quite… good-looking since you went overseas," the Colonel said as he kept staring.

Hachiman smirked. "I'm sorry, sir, but I don't swing that way." Immediately a paperweight flew through the air and hit him squarely on the forehead. "AH! SHIT! That hurt!"

"I don't swing that way either, you little shit. Learn to take a compliment," the Colonel scowled before getting serious once more. "Anyway, let's begin. You're going in undercover in a company to investigate their finances, staff, and facilities. They're suspected of… Ahem… Let's see: Supporting a rebel group, donating to the Yakuza, drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, human trafficking, and this is a longshot, but… attempting to make a nuclear bomb."

"Huh? … What… What company is this?" he asked, absolutely befuddled.

"Heh. Still remember your childhood friend, Miura Yumiko?" Hachiman couldn't even form proper words.

 _Huh?_ _He thought._ _Miyu? The fire queen of the school? What? When? How?_

"Yeah, I know what you're thinking. But it turns out her father is a lowkey bigshot in Saudi Arabia who owns a multimillion-dollar construction company, which also is a full-time weapons manufacturer for the UAE military. They have ties to not only the prince of Saudi but also the Bin Laden family. Though that's not where the problem lies. We suspect that the Hayama Hayato – Miura Yumiko's husband – is strong-arming his father-in-law into conducting illegal business trades with rather questionable organizations. Your mission, should you choose to accept, is to infiltrate both of the corporations and gather as much intel as you can. If possible, also put a stop to this by yourself. And if things get out of hand… assassinate Miura Yumiko, Hayama Hayato, and their relatives to the first degree of kinship."

 _Holy… Fucking… Shit_ , Hachiman thought as he slumped back into the chair. _Heck, why not. Not like I have any attachments to them. On a side note, I wonder how Yukino and Yui are doing._

"Colonel, are you trying to sound like the IMF? Hahaha. Don't worry though. I accept," Hachiman said coolly. The Colonel eyed him as if looking for the determination in his eyes.

"You know, if you fail, you will be disavowed and made to bear the hatred of the whole country, if not the whole world. Miura-san is an actress loved by the whole world."

Hachiman narrowed his eyes. Really? Did the Colonel really think he was that weak? "Heh, I've been bearing the burden of being hated by the people I've fought with, people I've trusted to watch my back, people I've trained, for years on end now. I've had to shoot my comrades in the head, just to fool the enemy and complete the mission. I planted C-4s on my dead or nearly dead teammates, to kill the enemy. I tortured innocent civilian children to get information out of their parents who had ties to the enemy. My team and I **toppled governments** , sir. When I was undercover working to infiltrate ISIS, they suspected me of having ties to a UK platoon of four guys that got caught. Best of the best. I knew, cuz I trained them. The boss asked me to prove my innocence. You know what I did?"

"… What?" the Colonel asked, already dreading the answer. He knew how bad the elite had it.

"I shot each one in the head… looking them in the eye… wearing the most _genuine_ smile I could possibly muster at that moment. When I was secretly relaying information to the allies while hiding in a landfill full of shit, a cleaning maid walked in on me. She was totally innocent. Forced to work there by those bastards because they were threatening to kill her younger brother. She even used to serve me tea sometimes. We laughed together, smiled together, shared jokes. I met her little brother too. Such a sweet little boy. He wanted to be a doctor. She even told me once that I was the first person to make her smile in that living hell… And I had to kill her with my bare hands. I strangled her while glaring at her as all she could mutter while dying was her brother's name: 'Farhaan'." Hachiman said grimly while looking the Colonel as a he kept his tears locked through sheer willpower. "If I can do that, sir, the hatred of a bunch of strangers means less than jack shit to me."

"Hikigaya…"

"Don't worry sir. I'm not looking for pity. I just want you to know, no matter what happens, I'll always put the mission first."

"Well, then your mission starts now. Good luck, Lieutenant Colonel Hikigaya."

"Don't need it," Hachiman's raspy voice echoed through the office.


	4. Chapter 4

**4**

* * *

" **I'm Home…"**

* * *

Inside the Colonel's office, Hachiman changed his clothes and exited through a secret exit.

"Here is your backstory, and your mission objectives," the Colonel had said as he handed Hachiman a 1.5-centimetre-thick file. "Study it, memorize it, become it. We've already contacted your pilots. They should be outside waiting for you in your helicopter. I'll have someone send your baggage and rifle to your apartment. Also, before I forget, take this," the Colonel ordered as he held out a device. Hachiman took the phone that the Colonel had handed to him. "It's the Solarin. All calls will be fully encrypted. Your family's numbers and my number are saved on it. Take care of it." He thanked the Colonel and walked out.

Despite his job, Hachiman's pay was amazing! And with nowhere to spend it, he had amassed quite a fortune over the course of 17 or so years. That's why he could afford his own private helicopter, a Tesla Roadster 2.0, and quite a big apartment in the heart of Tokyo. But his parents and sister still lived in Chiba.

He walked out to the tarmac and waved to the pilots. He got in his modified black Eurocopter EC130B4 and put the headset on. "Welcome back, sir! Haven't seen you in quite a while. We're flying to Tokyo, I assume?"

"Nah. Chiba. And contact Zaimokuza to have my Roadster ready at the airport, I want to visit Komachi right away."

"Very well, sir. Wilco," the pilot said as they took off. "Shall I play some music?"

"Mmm… yeah sure. But make sure it's something nice."

"Of course. You'll like it," the pilot replied, pressing a button as a song started playing. Over the course of his deployment, Hachiman had gotten fluent in English, Russian, Hindi, Mandarin and Arabic.

He quickly recognized the song that was playing, which was none other than… Coming home by Skylar Grey.

"Tch. You cheeky bastard," Hachiman said playfully.

"I told you, you'll like it, sir," the pilot replied as he knew he had chosen the perfect song for the occasion.

 **...**

Hachiman could see Zaimokuza waving to him as he stood beside the Roadster. He had lost his fat physique and become extremely fit. He also got a haircut and sported an undercut combover hairstyle. Gone was the Zaimo-chunni-za. The person who stood in front of him, dressed in the Armani suit was the handsome owner of a huge publishing company.

The helicopter landed, and Hachiman hopped out and walked towards Zaimokuza. Both stood half a foot apart from each other. Completely silent.

It was Hachiman who broke the silence, "You've changed."

"Heh, no shit dumbass… speaking of changes, you've becomes much more… dead," Zaimokuza said half-jokingly while holding up the remote to the Roadster.

"You couldn't be more correct," Hachiman said through his teeth, taking the remote. Zaimokuza looked at his best friend who got into the driver seat. "I missed you, bro," he said emotionally.

"Need a ride?" Asked Hachiman.

"No, thanks. I've got my Rolls Royce waiting there," he said jokingly flexing on Hachiman.

"Ah, I see," the loner replied smoothly, completely unaffected and made a request. "Can you please tell my pilot that I want my **private helicopter** parked on the terrace of my apartment?" Hachiman said mockingly.

"Tch," Zaimokuza clicked his tongue and chuckled. "You're still as much of a smart-ass as you used to be."

Hachiman had missed this sort of banter with his best friend. "I doubt that's ever gonna change. Later bro," Hachiman bid farewell to Zaimokuza.

The silver-haired man waved goodbye over his shoulder without turning around.

 **...**

Driving through the streets of Chiba brought a strange sense of nostalgia to Hachiman. He remembered all those times he walked back together with Yui and Yukino. The flood of memories hit him like a truck, and he couldn't help but form a small smile.

He arrived in front of his parents' house and parked the car to the side. He stood outside the house, merely looking at it as he leaned against his car. So many memories. So many regrets. Hachiman couldn't help but squeeze his eyes together as a few tears finally escaped and rolled down his cheeks.

 _Well it's Saturday, so they should all be home_ , he thought as he pondered on how to make an entrance, but in the end, he decided to stick to his old ways.

Hachiman slowly walked up to the door and twisted the door handle.

"I'm home!" he called out, as the door swung open and he stepped inside. Ah, still the same familiar entrance way. The same photographs of Komachi and him hung on the walls, including a few new ones which showed Komachi in a graduation gown with a different hat. His eyebrow rose in confusion for merely a spilt-second before he finally realized. She hadn't worn her own year's hat. She had actually worn his hat to the graduation ceremony. His train of thought was finally broken as he heard a familiar voice.

"Huh? Who's there?!" Came a cautious voice from inside, which sounded like it belonged to an old lady. Hachiman's mother turned the corner with a knife in her hand. It's understandable why she would be wary. Suddenly hearing a man's voice say 'I'm home' when her husband was already in the house.

"Whoa mom, it's just me. Haha," he said casually in a cheerful voice. "I'm… I'm finally home."

"Ha… Hachiman? Is that… really you?" she asked with disbelief. Hachiman patted himself on the cheeks, then chest, then the hips.

"Uh… yeah. I think it's still me."

Hachiman's mother dropped the knife as she ran up to him and engulfed him in a hug. "Oh Hachiman, you could've at least called," said his mom, as her hold became even tighter and shed tears of happiness.

"I wanted to surprise you," he explained, hugging her back.

"Who is it, honey?" His father said as he walked out from the master bedroom. "Wha… Oh, son!" He shouted as he swiftly hugged Hachiman just like his mother did. They spent a moment like that in silence. His parents finally pulled back, pleasant smiles on their faces. "So, how long are you here for?"

Hachiman's parents and Komachi were the only ones who knew his secret. But all they knew was that he was on a special mission overseas.

"I've been assigned another mission. It's at home this time, so I'll probably be living here instead of Tokyo," he said happily. "Probably for around two or three years." His parents were elated as they realized Hachiman would be living with them. That afternoon they sat together and had lunch, making small talk. Hachiman couldn't contain his sis-con fueled curiosity anymore. He asked, "By the way, where's Komachi? I don't see her."

"She's in her university right now, working on her new research. She'll be back by nighttime." His mother answered joyfully. "I bet she will be overjoyed to see you again."

"Haha, I hope so," Hachiman answered as the thought of seeing his little sis all grown up made him smile involuntarily.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you," his heart clenched as he desperately hoped it wasn't about her getting a boyfriend or anything. If she did, he would have to… discipline him… before letting her get with some guy. His mother continued, "we have plans tonight to go to a business dinner. Your father and I will probably be back tomorrow afternoon. So, behave okay," she added, earning a sigh from him.

"C'mon mum, I've survived this long in the military. I think I've improved my habits at least a bit," he said as he knew not all of that was the truth.

"Mmm-Hmm. Sure…" she replied sarcastically. They enjoyed their little banter as his father occasionally pitched in.

 **...**

It was around ten o'clock at night. The sun had already set, and Hachiman had spent his evening thoroughly enjoying the sunset. The view was also something that brought more memories back like a flood. Now, he was seated in the living room, lying down on the couch. The lights were turned off and comfortable darkness blanketed the house. This was an environment that Hachiman was most comfortable with.

A few moments later the distinct sound of the door unlocking, followed by the door opening was heard. "I'm home~" called out a cute yet womanly voice.

"Welcome back!" he replied, getting up from the couch and standing a mere few feet in front of her.

"Huh? Dad? I thought you and mom had a party to attend to tonight. And why's it so dark? At least turn on the lights. You'll ruin your eyesight y'know," she said as she took off her shoes and walked towards the light switch. "So, I assume mom went to the party alone?" She turned on the lights, but still not turning back to face him. "You shouldn't do that, dad. Mom might be strong as hell, but it's still your job to protect her," she said taking off the sweater, hanging it in the closet.

"Nah, mom and dad both went to the party. It's just me tonight," Hachiman replied nonchalantly showing a small smile.

Komachi froze as she heard the slightly familiar voice. She slowly turned around to look at him, as she let a voice just barely loud enough to be heard by Hachiman, "Onii… chan?"

"Yep. It's me Komachi," he confirmed with a wide smile. He couldn't help but notice just how much she had grown. Her hair was still the same as before but almost everything else about her had changed. Her figure had become lithe and the distinctive bulge on her chest unmistakably augmented her figure.

"Onii-chan…" She said, staring him in the eyes as she slowly trudged towards him.

"Yeah, Komachi. It's your one and only Onii-chan who loves you so much! Oh, I bet that earned me a ton of Hachiman points, ne?" he said jokingly, feeling a wave of nostalgia sweep over him all over again.

"Onii-chan…" She repeated as her lower lip quivered tears welled up in her eyes. She extended an arm, slowly caressing his cheek as if to make sure he was still there. To make sure that this wasn't just another one of her nightmares where he would disappear as soon as she touched him.

"ONII-CHAN!" She screamed, confirming his presence and wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in his neck. "WAAAHHHH!" she started weeping. "I… missed you… so much," she said between her sobs.

"I'm so sorry," Hachiman responded, feeling himself also choke a little bit. God knew how much he had missed her. He really did feel extremely guilty leaving her alone without even a peep from him over the years… But he knew: **Mission before the man.** That was something not even he could argue against.

"You left… so… suddenly… I didn't know what to do," she said still crying. "Everyday… every… fucking… day… I had nightmares… what if something happened to you? What if I never got to see you again? Just staying alive without you was so damn painful. Why? WHY DID YOU NOT SAY A SINGLE WORD?! Not a single phone call… text… email… letter… or even a postcard. Nothing! Imagine what I was going through!" Little did she know that Hachiman faced hell that was infinitely worse.

"But I came back, didn't I? And I'm here to stay, so don't worry. I'm not going anywhere."

"Of course, you aren't. Baka Onii-chan," she said lovingly, still embracing him.

Komachi held onto him like a lifesaver. Almost as if he would disappear if she were to let go… or as if she would drown into the depths of her own despair. They stayed like that in silence and she slowly noticed just how much he had also grown. It had been too long since they had both held onto each other like this, but the warmth and comfort he exuded hadn't changed one bit.

Hachiman slid his hand up and slid his hand through her hair. Her face snuggled deeper into the crook of his neck as she felt seven years younger once more. Her thoughts travelled back to before Hachiman had been deployed. That had been a night to remember.

Hachiman shuddered as he felt Komachi's warmth breath on his neck. His hands caressed her waist and hips, as Komachi pressed herself into him. Her lips parted and latched onto his neck. A moan escaped her as Hachiman's hand squeezed her behind.

Komachi let go and pulled away slightly before she looked up into his eyes. He stared back her for a couple of seconds. A couple of seconds and some eye contact were all it took for them to have a whole conversation. Komachi pushed her brother so that he fell onto the sofa.

"Komachi…" he said to his little sister who slowly lied on top of him.

"I don't care anymore, Onii-chan," she said sliding her left arm behind his neck and caressing his cheek with her right hand, pulling him into the deepest kiss either of them had ever experienced in their lives. Their lips overlapped, tongues intertwined, and seven years worth of deep feelings were conveyed through that one life-changing kiss. His arms made their way to her lower back and held her tightly, as he fought for dominance with his tongue before giving in to his sister's much stronger feelings. She sucked his breath out, turning the inside of their mouths into a vacuum. She wrapped her tongue around his and truly sucked on it. "Nnnh…"

 _Wait, what the hell? Was that me or her?_ He thought as he legitimately didn't know who that moan came from.

Their lips parted for just a microsecond as Komachi needed to breathe... but Hachiman was an elite killing machine who could hold his breath for over 5.5 minutes. That one microsecond was enough for him to turn the tables on her. This time it was his turn to show his dominance. His hands made their way to her thighs as he lifted his back, and skillfully gained control. His tongue's invasion into her mouth could be compared to the allies' invasion on Normandy on D-Day. He made his tongue into a hook and grasped hers bringing it into his own mouth, starting to suck on it. In return, she pressed the center of his tongue with her own stimulating the both of them. They explored every nook and cranny of each others' mouths like Indiana Jones exploring an uncharted tomb in Egypt. He wrapped both sides of her tongue with his own. She fought back with all her might, pushing her tongue deep into his mouth without caring for what happens in her own. It was a bloody, err, slimy battlefield. Hachiman was a genius, elite, OP killer. He had not only mastered strategies of war but also the art of lovemaking. Seven years without anything sexual the R-18 novels that were sometimes delivered by the locals tended to make the guys a bit horny.

Their lips separated. Komachi had a look of complete utter euphoria on her face as she once again buried her face in his neck. "I love you so much," he said in the most seducing voice he possibly could, and lightly bit her ear.

"AAAHHHHNNN!" she moaned quite loudly, gradually losing consciousness, while still on top of him.

"Huh? Komachi?" Hachiman shook her lightly but stopped when he saw the peaceful smile on his sleeping lover's face. "Guess we'll just end it here tonight" he stated as he also felt a sense of fatigue wash over him, slowly falling asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**5**

* * *

 **Getting Settled**

* * *

"Fuuaahhhh…" Komachi yawned as she blearily opened her eyes. She swivelled her head around in confusion for a second before her eyes finally landed on Hachiman's face. The previous night's memories came flooding back and her cheeks flushed at the realization of what she had done. Was she embarrassed? Yes. Did she regret it? HELL NO!

Komachi once more looked at her brother sleeping face and smiled. Her hands came up to caress his cheeks. Her soft fingers stroked his sharp jaw as her face come down over his. She placed a small kiss on his cheek, bringing her mouth towards his ear and softly whispering, "Good morning, Onii-chan."

"Mmm… contact… front… eagle… secure… man down… no… no… no…," he mumbled while sleeping, only loud enough that even Komachi who was no more than an inch away from him could barely make out the words. Hachiman writhed in his sleep as his handsome face morphed into an expression of intense pain.

"O-Onii-chan!" said Komachi loudly. She was clearly worried. "Wake up!" she yelled as she shook him, still lying on top of him.

Hachiman woke with a start, retinas shirking, his eyeballs frantically looking around, his hand reaching for the non-existent knife or gun, as he whispered, "Snow!" He quickly regained his bearings, spotting Komachi on top of him, with a look of concern on her face. Ah… this wasn't good. She was worried and Hachiman didn't like seeing his loved ones worried. Thankfully, calming her down was child's play for him.

He had practiced manipulating his own smiles, tears, and every single type of facial expression. Hachiman had created multiple personalities and masks. A different one for each mission. In the process of doing that, his ability to read people was the best in the world, and same with his reaction speed, save for the CO, the Colonel, and Ghost, whose abilities he still didn't know the full extent of. He remembered how he had always hated the mask that Haruno put on. Hachiman had finally realized years ago that what he had been doing was nothing different than what she did. Instead, it was even worse. He deceived people for months, or even years on end, and at the final moment he'd take his mask off and end their existence. How ironic. He had literally become what he hated.

"Good morning," he greeted her with a slight smile. In the past, this smile would've made him look like a creepy, perverted stalker scum, but now it looked perfect on his handsome mature visage, though his eyes were still as dead and sharp as ever. He could even work as a model, if it weren't for the thousands of scars, all over his body that he gained from years of enduring continuous bullets, explosions, torture, and at rare times, self-harm. His back and chest looked like a bird's eye view of a battlefield from WW2.

"Good morning, my ass!" Komachi said angrily. She knew what Hachiman's job was, so it wasn't exactly a problem that she heard him say those things. "You're in pain, Onii-chan. I heard you whispering… things," she murmured the last word as she didn't really know what he was saying. After all, she was a scientist researching high energy nuclear and particle physics at Tokyo U. Not a special forces soldier.

Hachiman's expressions didn't waver as he merely chuckled. "Haha, don't worry about it, my cute little sister. I'm used to it."

Komachi had a look of horror on her face and Hachiman wondered if he had said something wrong. "That still doesn't mean that it's okay. In fact, that makes it even worse," she said as she clenched her teeth knowing that there was absolutely nothing she could do for him except be there to give her love and support.

"Alright… How about this. Since it's time to wake up, I'll go shower, and you can make me breakfast. Then you go shower and we'll both eat together while talking about everything we missed in last… 7 years? You know, mom and dad will be back soon," Hachiman asked in the most soothing tone ever.

"Nuh-uh." She didn't get off.

"O-Oi, Komachi. You know, mom and dad will be back soon."

"Hm."

"Whaddya mean, 'Hm'?"

She hugged his neck even tighter. "Komachi doesn't want to get off," she said while pouting.

"Komachi, it'll be really, really, bad if they see us like this," he said trying to convince her.

"Geez, Onii-chan. You're so forgetful. Didn't I say last night?" she brought her mouth extremely close to his ear. "I don't care anymore." She bit his earlobe. Now keep in mind, it was morning, so Hachiman's… soldier was also fully awake and standing at attention. Combining that with what Komachi just did, a sound escaped his mouth involuntarily. "Heuk!"

Komachi giggled, and whispered again, "Payback for last night."

 _This damn fox…_ he retorted in his mind. His patience was wearing thin now. It was early in the morning. He drank a lot of water last night. HE. HAD. TO. GO! "Komachi, seriously though… I need to pee."

She flashed him a sly smirk. It was dangerously seductive, but at the same time, just as cute. "Nope. I'm never letting Onii-chan go."

"Goddammit, Komachi!" He had reached his breaking point. Had this been a war zone, he could've held out for 18 more hours, but he was home. There was no way he was bringing out his warrior personality here.

 _AH FUCK IT!_

Hachiman glided his hands, down from her waist, to her butt and squeezed it, making the surprised Komachi let out a small "HANH!"

He lifted her, just enough that she wouldn't get in the way when he tried to sit up. "Hmm?" let out the confused little fox. He slid his legs off the couch and onto the floor while simultaneously lifting his upper body, and in a few seconds, he was standing, his little sister still clinging to him. Her arms wrapped around his neck and her legs, around his waist.

"WAAHHH! Onii-chan! Put me down! I'm really scared of heights!" she screamed. He was around 6' 2" tall, which was enough to make the 5' 8" Komachi fear for her life.

"Nope. You asked for this," he said, walking up the stairs and into her room. Of course, she was a fully-grown adult, but she didn't feel heavy to him at all. Part of the reason might be because he was used to carrying almost three times her weight regularly, trying to get that perfect position behind enemy lines. This also earned him a lot of complaints as his spotter also had to tag along, but as always, he continuously repeated: **Mission before the man.**

He sat down on her bed with her still clinging onto him, basically straddling him. "Oi! You can let go now," he called out to her. Komachi slowly opened her eyes and made sure he was properly seated before she slowly stood up and started walking out the door, embarrassed as hell.

"Onii-chan, BAKA!" Komachi stuck her tongue out as she escaped towards the kitchen.

 _That girl… Well, I guess I should call her woman now_ , he slightly blushed as he thought about last night. _UWWAHHHHH! WHAT THE HELL WAS I THINKING?!_

But at least now he knew that she also felt the same way about him as he felt about her. _Whatever… I'll go shower first_ , Hachiman thought as he stood up and walked to the shower.

 **...**

Hachiman and Komachi sat on opposite sides of the dining table. They had both finished showering and were about to start eating her delicious homemade breakfast. Stuffed croissants, sweet coffee, warm freshly made pancakes with a small slice of butter on top, topped with the original Canadian maple syrup that Ghost had given him as a farewell gift, and a bowl of different berries that were homegrown. Hachiman's mouth watered. He dug into the pancakes first.

Now, when you've spent years one end eating nothing but MREs and finally have a warm meal, moreover, one that was made by the person you love, and that too, in your own home, no matter how badass of a killing machine you are, you will melt. And that is exactly what happened to Hachiman. If he had to describe what he was feeling in one word, the word he would choose is ecstasy. Or euphoria. He was in a world of his own for five seconds. The soft, fluffy pancakes combined with the pure Canadian maple syrup. If sex was a food, it would be this.

Komachi looked at her brother with eyes full of love and passion, truly feeling pride that he loved her cooking. After all, she had honed her cooking skills for no one other than her brother. He took a sip of his coffee and a smile that contained nothing, but true joy spread across his face. Hachiman looked at his little sister.

"Hey, Komachi," he said quickly gaining her attention.

"Hmm?" she asked quietly.

"I love you."

"Wha- wa- wa- What are you saying all of a sudden like this?" Not only the cheeks, but the whole face turned red. Her ears felt hot and she could feel the soft gaze of her one true love directed towards her. His face had a look which was hard to describe. Joy? Pain? Sadness? Longing? No… Love. He had always looked for _genuine_. But what he didn't realize all these years, was that the _genuine_ he was looking for was, at times right in front of him, at others, right beside him. "I l-love you too." He loved her, and she loved him. Life was good. Simple as that.

"Pft- ahahahaha!" He broke down laughing when he saw her reaction which, in turn, made her even redder until he looked like a ripe tomato.

"ONII-CHAN!" she yelled annoyed. They continued their lovely playful banter for a while until a phone rang. It was Hachiman's. He went to pick it up and his expression stiffened. To an outsider, there would've been no difference but to Komachi, it was plain as day.

"Is it work?" she asked nervously.

"Yeah…" he replied grimly as he answered it. "Eight," he said not minding Komachi. He trusted her 110%.

"[Go secure]"

"Stand by," he pulled the phone away from his face as he swiped his finger on it. The phones screen went black as blue script ran through it, trying to connect to the nearest private satellite. When it connected, the screen flashed green.

"Ready to input. Awaiting transmission," he said as he again put the phone to his ear.

"[Eight Foxtrot Mike Bravo Six Nine-er Three Two Charlie]" came a voice from the other side.

He separated the phone again and input the code. C.

"Connection secure. Ready to proceed."

"Three five decimal six eight five two November, one three nine-er decimal seven one zero one Echo. Fifteen hundred hours, local time." The line went dead. Hachiman knew right away those were the latitude and longitude coordinates and the time was three o'clock in the afternoon. Most likely a package pickup. He put the phone back in his pocket. It was ten o' clock right now, which meant in five hours there was going to be a package drop off at the coordinates 35.6852° N, 139.7101° E. Hachiman searched it up on his phone.

"Komachi," he called out, "let's go check out your university later."

 **...**

It was one o'clock in the afternoon. The Hikigaya siblings hopped into Hachiman's car as they set off towards Tokyo.

"Nee, Onii-chan?" Komachi said as she turned down the volume of the radio.

"Nooo Komachi what're you doing?!" he exclaimed, alarm in his voice. "Man, I missed the drop."

"The… drop?" questioned Komachi.

"The bass drop." Komachi gave him a deadpan stare which relayed the information without speaking. 'Really?'.

"Well, whatever, what is it?" he asked looking at her.

"Are… Are you going to be living in Chiba with us now?" she asked, expecting him to say yes.

He closed his eyes and tilted his head back, letting out a tired sigh, "To be completely honest with you… I don't know. It all depends on the orders I get from here on out."

Hachiman had read the case file the Colonel had given him. His backstory was as goes: Born in Chiba, attended school in Chiba, flew overseas to America to study engineering in MIT, got bachelor's, worked for GE for three years, got laid off, couldn't find work so came back to Japan. This was just the summary. The real one was detailed enough to have addresses, references, phone numbers, credit card information, telephone bills, and even the card of a fake gym membership. As for the studying part, Hachiman had to learn a lot to complete his undercover mission, so he had quite a bit of in-depth knowledge of engineering, business, medicine, and music.

They continued the rest of the trip in silence.

 **...**

"Komachi," he called. "Komachi wake up… Komachi we're here!"

"Fuaahhh!" she yawned as she rubbed her eyes still half-asleep. "Where are we, Onii-chan?"

"Shinjuku Gyoen Park. Let's go," he said. This was where the coordinates led to but Komachi didn't know that.

"Oh my, Onii-chan, so bold~," she said while blushing. "I'll award you with a kiss~" she walked up to Hachiman as she said, "That got me a ton of Komachi points!" Hachiman laughed as he remembered their own special little game.

"C'mon Komachi you're still playing that? You're almost as old as Hirats- GUH!" Hachiman doubled over as he received a deathly blow to the gut.

"Hmm~? Did you say something Onii-chan~?" she asked with a sickly sweet voice while smiling.

"K- Komachi your eyes aren't smiling!"

"Oh my~ Looks like you still didn't learn your lesson~" she replied, cracking her knuckles.

"Waaahhh! I'm sorryyyyy!" Hachiman said as he backed away quickly. _Goddammit, Shizuka! I'M SUPPOSED TO BE THE KILLING MACHINE, NOT HER!_

 **...**

To anybody watching them, they would've looked like just another couple walking, having a fun time in the park. In fact, even Komachi thought that they were just on a normal date, and to be fair, it was… for **her**. For Hachiman, he was walking through all the paths that are in the park and looking for something distinct. Something. Anything. Anything… _Ah!_ He thought as he spotted it. One trash can. Different from all the rest. What was different about it? This one had a small star sticker on one of the legs. _Found it… finally, after almost two hours_ , he thought as he pulled out a smoke grenade.

"Komachi," he ordered, "Go wait for me near the car." She immediately picked up on the danger and seriousness in his tone.

"O-Okay…" she said hesitating, but nevertheless, following his instructions. As soon as she was 15 meters away from him, he pulled out the pin and chucked the grenade towards a fairly crowded place.

"KYAAAAHHHHH!" a scream was heard from there, and chaos ensued, while Hachiman quietly and walked towards the trash can. He bent down and reached under it. His hands moved around a bit before he felt the familiar sensation of paper. Grabbing the package, he shoved it under his jacket and walked away. _Package secured_.

 **...**

They met up once more at the car. She was waiting inside with a worried look on her face, which quickly turned into relief as soon as she saw Hachiman. "O-Onii-chan! Is everything alright?"

"I… I'm sorry," he apologized, bowing his head. "I used you for a mission. I shouldn't have done it, but I had to. I'm very, very, sorry."

"Un-un," she denied, shaking her head. "I'm very happy I was of use to you. Don't worry about it!" she showed a bright smile. Feelings of self-disgust washed over him… and he accepted them. Yes, he was worse than scum but that's what was needed for his country and he'd accept it all with open arms. After all, someone has to do it. And if everyone thinks, _Oh, why should I rick my life? There are others too, aren't there?_ Then there will never be anyone willing to make sacrifices for the greater goof. Even so, he still couldn't help but grimace at how he had used his own little sister like this. _Man… I'm a really shitty guy, huh_ , he reflected. "Onii-chan. If you make that expression, I won't forgive you." Truly, Komachi could read her brother like an open book.

Hachiman started the car and started driving to Komachi's university.

"Onii-chan, what's that suspicious looking package?" she inquired curiously.

"If I tell you, I'd have to kill you after, so I'm not going to tell you." He smiled at her.

"Mou~" she pouted. "Onii-chan is so cool. I want to be like you too." She said while looking out the passenger side window to hide her blushing face.

"Trust me… you don't," he replied, the pain in his voice was easy to figure out.

"Huh?" Komachi had a quizzical look on her face.

"Ah… Nothing. Why don't you tell me more about your research?" he went into soldier mode to easily hide his emotions. It's not something he liked doing around Komachi. But… Desperate times called for desperate measures.

"So well just the other day, we monitored the decay from colliding three alpha particles, and we believed it fused to create another element with the chemical properties of Beryllium, but somehow one out of every, like, 56 test gave us physical properties which hinted at it having negative mass, but we can't be sure because its life was only 7 X 10-17 seconds so now we're looking into it and think we might've made some progress in the 'dark matter' category…" Hachiman tuned out Komachi's rambling while still directing 10% of his attention to her.

 _What could it be?_ he thought about the mission given to him. _Infiltrating Hayama's and Miura's company… It's gotta take at the very least, two years. Assassinating his family… AHHH! I'm going to have to fly all the way over to Saudi to kill her father. Or maybe I can kill Miura first, then kill her father at her funeral? No… He'd have much better protection then. I need to do it simultaneously. Well let's see the weapons the CIA has in store for me_ , he smiled internally.

 **...**

He had dropped Komachi off at Tokyo U and was now sitting on his king-sized bed in his own apartment. A tablet fell out as he opened the package. He turned it on, and the screen flashed blue. Lifting his arm up, he put his right hand on the screen. It flashed green.

"[Lieutenant Colonel Hikigaya,]" a pre-recorded voice spoke, "[we are incredibly pleased to have you join us. We would like to welcome you to our team consisting of the best of the best operatives, from hackers to secret agents. Your primary objective as of now, as previously explained by the Colonel, is to infiltrate and investigate the Hayama and Miura families' corporations and put a stop to any illegal activities taking place. Your secondary objective is to assassinate Mr. Hayama Hayato and Mrs. Hayama Yumiko and all their relative to which they share the first degree of kinship with. Your tertiary objective, if possible is to create an unrest in a few middle eastern countries around Saudi Arabia. Your main base of operations will be your own apartment in Tokyo, seeing as how it has adequate security measures and enough escape routes. Please rest assured that you do not need to be worried about the security of your family as each person will be under 24/7 protection by at least three Secret Services personnel. Thank you very much for your cooperation and are overjoyed to have you with us.]"

"… Unrest? You want me to create unrest in countries? Hahaha, Nah, fuck that. Imma topple fucking governments," he said with an evil look in his eyes. Another voice came from the tablet.

"This message will self-destruct in 5… 4… 3…"

"OH SHIT!" Hachiman grabbed the tablet and flung it out his open balcony. He watched it fall down as it burned up completely in mid-air and all that fell were ashes. "Seriously, these guys…" He shook his head. "Well, I guess I'll be living here then."

 _Let's see… What should I do about the reunion?_ He pondered. _It says 'Hikigaya Hachiman, plus one.'… Should I take Komachi? But she's pretty busy with her research. Hmm… Well not like I really know anyone else. I guess if it comes to it, I'll have to beg Komachi. Ah! Maybe I should go visit Soubu. I wonder how Hiratsuka-sensei is doing._

 **...**

It was 10 pm.

"Komachi!" he called out to the beautiful woman who was talking cheerfully to a group of what looked like university students. Her eyes lit up as she heard her brother's voice.

"Ah, Hachiman! I'll be right there!" she said as she hastily turned back to finish up the conversation. _D-Did she just… call me Hachiman? Well not that I mind it or anything._

"Hachiman! Unlock the car!" Her voice brought him out of his thoughts.

"Eh? Ah! My bad," he said as she got in. "By the way Komachi," he started as they got on their way, "why did you call me 'Hachiman' back then?" Her face flushed at the unexpected question.

"E-Eh?" Komachi said as she was looked at her brother with surprise. "Do… Do you dislike it?" she asked with upturned eyes.

"N-No no no! I love it, I'd rather you say that than 'Onii-chan'," he replied, visibly flustered.

She sighed in relief. "Well it's cuz I sort of, might have, maybe, possibly told them you were… my boyfriend."

"Oh, I see- WAIT, WHAT?!" he exclaimed loud enough for the Tesla to turn off the autopilot. "Shit!" he took control of the beauty and set it to autopilot again. "Komachi…" he sighed as he began. "I don't mind being introduced like that… but you know it'll cause problems when people find out the truth, right?" he asked making sure not to give her the wrong idea.

"Geez, Hachiman. It seems your memory really has gone bad. Didn't I already say, I don't give a shit," she said in an extremely annoyed voice. "And by the way, where are we going? This is not the route to the highway."

"Nah, it turns out my mission requires me to live in my apartment so I'm taking you there. Don't worry I already called mom and dad and told them that you're crashing at my place. It's a drag to drive you all the way back to Chiba at this time anyway…" He said in a worry-free tone.

"But Hachiman, my clothes and-," she started but was quickly interrupted by Hachiman as he waved her worries away.

"I already told you, don't worry. Dad dropped it off. He was already on his way to Tokyo for a short business trip," he said again in a reassuring tone.

"A-alright then," she tried her hardest not to blush at how her imaginations ran wild with anticipation.

 **...**

Hachiman swiped his card key which unlocked the door. "I'm home!" he said to no one in particular.

"Welcome back!" Komachi replied following her brother through the doorway. _At least that's what I'd like to say someday to him…_ she thought as she spotted a tinge of red on his cheeks, telling her he was probably also thinking the same thing.

"Your bag is in the guest bedroom. Go take a shower and I'll get the dinner going," he told her as they removed their shoes and stepped inside.

Hachiman went into his own bedroom where he quickly changed his clothes and washed his face in the powder room. Komachi got her towel and a change of clothes from the bag and headed to the shower. A few minutes later, a showered Komachi and Hachiman were seated on the dining table. It was Komachi who broke the silence.

"Y-You know, your condominium's in a pretty convenient area."

"Yep," Hachiman replied as he took another mouthful.

"Everything is so nearby from here. The supermarket, the gym, the train station."

"Yeah, that's precisely why I bought it. The price was a bit high, but I can just work overtime and pay it off," he said and smiled wryly as he imagined himself working overtime on the battlefield.

Living in the wilderness, deep in enemy territory. Getting less than 3 hours of sleep. Trekking 40 to 50 miles a day, just for a single shot at a high-value target worth about 500 million dollars. Surviving on food that he either grew by himself, or that was airdropped from a drone from 30000 feet in the sky. Creating his own electricity to power his communications tools. Fighting away bears with his hands and a ballistic knife. That was when he was stationed in Russia. One time, he had to fight away from a horde of walruses when he was making his way to a target. They were some persistent sons of bitches. That was when he was stationed in Greenland. Another time, in the Amazon rainforest, his mission was to annihilate a whole deforestation company's cartel. His spotter had sacrificed a few fingers at that time so that they could complete the mission. Their motto being: 'Mission before the man', it wasn't like they had a choice.

"ONII-CHAN!" He was pulled out of memory lane as Komachi's voice penetrated his eardrums, possibly rupturing them.

"Wh- What?" he answered, still half spaced out.

"You were spacing out again," she complained with a pout on her face. "What do you even keep thinking about?"

"Hell," he responded without even thinking and instantly regretted it. "I- I mean… fell. There was this guy who fell off a bridge once because his phone fell in the river, and he dived into it. HAHAHAHAHA!" he let out a dry laugh.

"Well okay, if you say so," Komachi said skeptically, "but just know, that I'm here for you… Hachiman."

He let a small smile float to his face. "Thanks, Komachi. You're the only one I can rely on."

The couple finished their dinner in comfortable silence and headed off to bed together. "Good night Hachiman."

"Good nitrogen! Sleep tightrogen! Don't let bed bugs bitrogen!" he laughed and replied as he remembered one of Ghost's favourite jokes, to which his sister just showed a confused face. "Ah! Never mind. It was an inside joke amongst our squad."

"I see, well sweet dreams!" They both retreated to their respective bedrooms.

 **...**

The moon shone brightly over Tokyo like god's own nightlamp. It was precisely about two o'clock in the morning and the streets were still bustling with activity. It was at such a time where we find one Komachi Hikigaya unable to sleep.

She tossed and turned, flipped over her pillow to the cold side, went to get a glass of water and still she couldn't sleep. Finally, getting tired of it, she woke up and decided to find her brother. Komachi knocked on Hachiman's door and opened it without waiting for a reply. "Hachiman?"

Hachiman had honed all his senses to be as sharp as possible. In the field, you can't expect the enemy to wake you up first, then kill you. He had actually heard her as soon as she had opened the door to her bedroom. He could hear her soft footsteps, and by the time she had opened his bedroom door, he was fully awake.

"Yeah?" he replied mocking sleepiness.

"I can't sleep. I'm cold," she made an excuse.

"Hmm. Hold up. Let me adjust the thermostat," he said, trying to resolve the problem.

"No."

"Huh?"

"No."

"Whaddya mean 'No.'?"

"Baka," she murmured. "I want to sleep with you."

"Komachi. Seriously? C'mon. It's a Monday tomorrow-"

"How many fucking times do I have to repeat myself?" she interjected angrily. "I! DON'T! CARE!"

"Haahhh…" He sighed loudly feeling his cheeks grow hotter. He lifted one side of his blanket. "Come on in," Hachiman said, knowing perfectly well what Komachi really wanted. _Two can play that game_ , he thought to himself.

She walked over and slid in beside him a bit too close for comfort and covered herself with his blanket, although she never expected Hachiman to do what he did next.

"C'mere you!" he said as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close.

"Wah!" she was surprised but then quickly smiled and wrapped her own arms around his neck, and just like that, they went to sleep revelling in each others' warmth and love.


	6. Chapter 6

**6**

* * *

 **The Beginning**

* * *

Hachiman's eyes slowly opened, as he turned off his alarm. _5:30… Damn, I've really let myself loose since I've been back. Well… Let's just hope it doesn't affect my performance_ , he thought as he looked out the window where the faintest golden streaks were visible. Memories came flashing back: CIA mission, Komachi living with him, Komachi sneaking into his bed. _Oh yeah, come to think of it, where the hell is she?_

Hachiman got up quickly and looked around, but her figure was nowhere to be found. He walked over and stepped out into the living room and saw her in the kitchen with an apron on. She turned around and was met with Hachiman's loving gaze.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," she said in a teasing voice and hit him with another cliché line. "Would you like breakfast, a shower, or… wa-ta-shi?" she winked as she pronounced the last syllable. Hachiman mentally took a screenshot of what he was looking at because at that moment, he was sure he was the luckiest guy in the world.

"I'll take a shower, then I'll have breakfast, then I'll have you," Hachiman countered which made Komachi visibly flustered.

"H-Hachiman! Surprise attacks like those aren't allowed!" she scolded.

"Oh? But you're allowed?" he challenged.

"Th- That's cuz I'm me!"

"Hai hai…" he said as he went to shower.

 **...**

Once again, they silently sat opposite each other at the dinner table and once more, Komachi was the one to initiate the conversation. "Hachiman."

"Hmm?" he said without looking up from his plate of delicious western style breakfast that Komachi had made.

"About the reunion…" she started. Hachiman looked up as if to say _BRUHHH_. "The invitation you got… It says, 'plus one' right?" his sister asked shyly.

"Yeah. What about it?"

"Uh, well... Who are you planning to take with you?"

"Hmm, to be honest… I wanted to take you, but that'd probably look weird, so I might just go by myself. I don't know though… I'm still contemplating it," he said matter-of-factly.

Komachi felt like a dagger was stabbed deep in her heart, though she schooled her expressions as to not let anything show. There was a moment of silence before she spoke again.

"I- I see…" she said bitterly. "And here I was, thinking you had finally changed after 7 years of war."

"Huh?" Hachiman asked, utterly confused. "What? What do you mean?"

The chair scraped the floor as she stood up from the dining table. "I can't believe you! After everything we've been through, you don't want to be seen with me! You're ashamed to be with me, aren't you?! You… you… stupid… Dimwit, Nincompoop, HACHIMAN!" she yelled at him and took off with a run into her bedroom, slamming the door shut. A tear rolled down her cheek as her knees gave out and she lowered with her back against the door, occasionally letting a small sob.

On the dining table, Hachiman pinched the bridge of his nose as he whispered, "Oh my god, this fucking idiot. Whatever higher power is up there, please, lend me the strength to deal with this blockhead." He stood up as he finished his prayer and walked to where she had run off to.

A few seconds had passed before a small knock came from the door. "Komachi," a small but stern voice came from the other side. At that moment she both hated it and loved it, that no matter what, every time she heard her brother's voice, a warm feeling of love and comfort grew in her chest. "Komachi, please. Answer me."

She wanted to see him, hug him. She wanted him to wrap his strong arms around her, yet she answered, "Go away."

"Komachi, just hear me out, will ya?" he pleaded. This wasn't like him. _He really has changed a lot_ , she thought. If it was the Hachiman before the deployment, he would've always said anything he wanted. He would've been the most straightforward person ever. "Please Komachi, I beg you. Just open the door. Let me explain." His words swayed her a little. "I promise you, whatever you are thinking is a misunderstanding." She got up and wiped her tears.

"You'll have 30 seconds." She said. _He is a soldier, right? Let's see his time management skills, shall we?_ She thought as she opened the door.

They stood face-to-face. The streaks of tears on her cheeks made his heart clench. This was a kind of pain he had never felt in all his time in the military. It made him… sad. An emotion he hadn't really felt since… middle school, maybe. "Komachi. Give me a summary of your history after I left," he ordered calmly.

"… What?" she asked confused.

"Please, just… humour me."

"Fine. I finished high school, then, was enrolled in Tokyo U, graduated with a Ph.D. in High Energy Nuclear and Particle Physics. Then I started working on my research there." She ended.

"Good. Now give me a summary of my history."

"You graduated high school," she paused, then finished with a bitter voice, "then you left."

"No. Not that. I'm talking about the cover story that I told you about," he explained.

"You… You graduated high school, then from MIT, then found a job somewhere and got fired and now you're back here."

"Exactly. Now imagine this. A beautiful mature woman, who graduated from Tokyo U with a Ph.D. within five years has gotten multiple awards, including a Nobel Prize in physics, standing beside a man who couldn't even manage to hold onto a proper job after graduating from MIT." He said in a self-deprecating tone. "Just imagine how badly it'd fuck up your reputation. Not to mention, almost everyone that's going to be there is a prominent figurehead for one thing or another in Japan. And then there's me. Now, do you understand why I said that?"

Komachi stood there in disbelief. _What… the… hell?_ She thought to herself. _How can he change so much, but at the same time not change at all? This brother of mine…_

She looked into Hachiman's eyes and took a step forward. He saw anger and grief flash through her eyes. The same kind he had seen when he had told Snow that he was probably never going to come back again. She stopped in front of him and finally spoke, "Why?"

"Huh?" he replied confused.

"Why do you do this to yourself? Why can't you just stop hurting yourself? Stop putting yourself down! Stop sacrificing yourself for others. Be it me, or anyone else!"

"I… I'm not. I'm just helping others out. Hehe, you could even say I'm some sort of hero. I never sacrificed myself. It's just… my methods were a bit unconventional."

"When I was in grade 1, a girl was bullying me, and when you found out, you said such mean things to her that you made her cry… even though you knew it'd get you suspended and that you'd get beaten up by her older friends. You sacrificed yourself for me."

"I… was immature back then."

"When you were in grade 4, your classmate was being harassed by others. No one dared tell the teachers, but you still did. Knowing that for the rest of elementary school, you'd become the one that would be harassed. You used to come home full of bruises, goddammit! And in the end… even the ones you saved turned on you."

"Well, someone had to do it. If it was me, then so be it."

"All through middle school… you made fake confessions to the girls in your class just so other guys could find out who they really liked. Because of that, you got called names like 'hikigerma' and 'hikipervert'."

"That didn't really matter. I was used to that stuff."

"Bull-fucking-shit. I used to hear you sob in the shower every night… And even when you finally wanted to love someone, that… that bitch spread rumours about you."

"It wasn't Orimoto's fault. I was the naïve one back then. I didn't realize that she was just… a nice girl," he ended with a bitter tone.

Komachi stayed silent for a moment, looking deep into Hachiman's eyes. "And what about all those social suicides in high school?" she finally asked.

"… Those were the best solutions to the problems without anyone getting hurt."

"And you? What about you getting hurt?"

"… Collateral damage. Hehe," he chuckled emptily.

"…"

"Ah… Why're you worrying about stuff that happened back then? I was used to all of it. It didn't affect me in the slightest."

"… right. Didn't affect you in the slightest. That's why you used to take that revolver with you during your morning runs."

Hachiman didn't show on his face, but his mind was a tornado of emotions. _She… still remembers, huh?_ was all he could think to himself.

 **...**

 **Flashback  
Hachiman. Middle of the third year of high school.**

[Gone for a run. Already ate. Will be back by 7:30. -Hachiman]

Hachiman wrote a note and left it on the dining table for Komachi to see so that she wouldn't panic when she saw that her brother was nowhere to be seen in the morning. It was about six in the morning and the sky was just gaining its beautiful golden hue.

"Yosh! Last week was ten kilometres. This week, I'll try twelve and a half." And he set off. Slowly at first. Just a jog. Then he started to increase his speed. Six kilometres without stopping. That was his goal.

A few weeks ago, Shizuka had introduced him to an acquaintance of hers. She had told him that they wanted to recruit the youth of Japan for a self-improvement project. Of course, it was only a cover. Even she herself didn't know the truth. Only three to four meetings, and several signed contracts later, had Hachiman found out it was the JSDF – Youth Militia Program.

Hachiman was a firm believer of the phrase, "To work is to lose," but with the pay and the conditions like these, it was way too nice an offer to pass up. The only part he had difficulty with was the physical training. Mainly because their goal was to break him down bit by bit and rebuild him into the perfect soldier. But even then, he got through it with sheer willpower. By the end of the current month, he was supposed to be able to run for fifteen kilometres straight, without stopping.

As he was running, the events of the last year were replayed in his head. When Hachiman joined the 'Self-Improvement Program', Shizuka had told him that there was no need for him to stay in the Service Club. Yet he stayed. He knew the bond between all the Service Club members was fragile, and so with teary eyes, he had asked them, "I just want something genuine." While running, he scoffed at his hypocrisy. It was obvious he hadn't really cried. He just had to put on that act so that it seemed like those were his real feelings. Hachiman knew better than anyone, that the 'genuine' he had mentioned was nothing more than a pipe dream. He was against _having_ emotions. He wasn't against _using_ them. Still, he couldn't deny that Yui, Yukino, and Iroha were three of the best friends he has, and would probably ever have, so he wanted to protect those bonds. Even if it's for a short time. The next significant memory was the winter date that Yui had dragged him along on, right before the third year started. To anyone else, it would've looked like a normal outing between four friends, however, Hachiman knew this was going to end on a serious note. By the end of the 'date,' no one had made a move and they were about to separate, but finally, Yui called out to him.

"H-Hikki!"

 _Goddammit. She just had to do it_ , he thought. He just stayed there unmoving without turning around. Hachiman could sense Yukino and Iroha tensing up. _Hah…_ he mentally sighed, _if only we could've stayed like this._ He knew that although his bond with each member was fragile, the bond and feelings shared between Yui, Yukino, and Iroha was truly genuine. Therefore, there was only one thing he could do, and as always, he would rather sacrifice his own happiness, than watch his… loved ones… go through that pain.

"Hikki, will you look at me?" she asked. He turned around slowly and looked her in the eyes. "You know, I wanted to this during the festival, but didn't get the chance to. So now I've made up my mind that no matter what happens, I'll say it. Hikki, I… I- "

A sharp ring interrupted Yui and cutting through the tension in the air like a hot knife through butter. Hachiman pulled out his phone mentally thanking whoever was calling him. _Oh, thank heavens, whoever you are, I owe you big time_ , he thought as he looked at the caller id. [Yukinoshita Haruno]. He had mixed feelings. He was grateful, but at the same time, he was stressed. After all, the call from the she-devil herself could only mean one thing: trouble. That was the moment when an idea popped into his mind. _Time to show those espionage acting exercises weren't for nothing!_ He swiped right on his phone to answer the call.

"Komachi?" he answered.

"[Wrong Hikigaya-kun~ It's me! Your favourite Onee-chan~ I heard you're on a date with Yukino-chan, Gahama-san, and… Ah, what's her name? Well it doesn't matter, does it? My, my, Hikigaya-kun. What a player you are~]" came the sing-song voice from the other side, but Hachiman had no intention of acknowledging it.

"Wh- WHAT!?" he shouted into the phone with an expression of shock mixed with grief.

"[Geez, Hikigaya-kun~ Talking to me can't be that bad can it?]" she said in mock sadness.

"Wh- Which hospital!?" he spoke urgently.

"[What are you talking about Hikigaya-kun?]" she said confusedly, then came a sudden gasp from the phone as she understood. "[Are you perhaps trying to get out of a sticky situation? It's not nice to use someone like that y'knooow~]"

"I'll be right there. Text me the ward number!" saying so he hung up and turned towards the girls with the best look of despair he could muster. "I-I'm sorry Yui. This is seriously urgent. I'll make it up to you! I promise!"

"I- It's okay, Hikki! It sounded bad. Go, quick!" she said with a smile on her face while waving. He smiled and ran off feeling like the worst trash in the world. Truly, Yuigahama Yui was the nicest girl.

"Woof! Woof!" a bark brought his full attention back to the road. He smiled and waved as he passed another jogger. Fortunately, the new glasses he had gotten from the JSDF turned out to be very useful to his image. Not only that, but the acting exercises also consisted of gentlemanly etiquette (for cases where he had to infiltrate rich businesses). Truly, with the glasses masking his rotten eyes, and physique rivalling that of professional athletes, combined with the gentlemanly behaviour, he could easily steal the title of 'Prince of Sobu High' from Hayama. Sadly, though he didn't, since one of the main requirements was to keep as low a profile as possible.

Hachiman's run came to an end on the bridge. Running continuously for 12.5 kilometres at a speed of 20 – 25 km/h. It took him about forty minutes. Not bad for someone his age… especially after all the hardcore training that he had gone through.

His eyes smoothly scanned the surroundings as he made sure that the place was still completely deserted. Truly, the perfect place to die. Complete and utter silence. No one can disturb it.

Hachiman slowly slid his right hand in his pocket and pulled it out. It really was a beautiful thing. The shiny silver barrel and cylinder reflected the sun that was just beginning to rise. The black grip was firm in his hand. He pulled out something else from his other pocket. It was small, but it held power. A combination of brass, gunpowder, and another metal, powerful enough to end a life. The sunlight glinted off the brass in the same way as the barrel. The revolver by itself was just an intricate piece of metal. The product of the imagination of a man who was a bit too lazy to kill someone the traditional way. Just like the revolver, the bullet, by itself, was nothing and held no power. Though when you put the two together, whole wars could be fought. Lives could be taken. Families could be destroyed.

Hachiman put an end to his monologuing as the slipped the bullet into the cylinder. With a perfect click, he closed it and gave it a hard spin. As the spinning cylinder came to a stop, the clicking also stopped, signifying the beginning of the gamble. Hachiman raised his hand and poised the barrel to his temple. He lifted his thumb and pulled the hammer back. *CLICK* came the sound from the gun.

His finger slid over to the trigger… and he squeezed.

 ***KTCH***

.

.

.

Hachiman let out the breath he was holding, keeping the barrel on his temple. He slowly brought the gun down, looking at it with melancholic eyes. "Not today, old friend. Not today," he said to it as he put it back in his pocket. Slowly, he began his trek back home, not knowing that two other entities had also seen the entire ordeal. Both were left gaping at the scene they had just witnessed.

"I'm home," he said as he entered the house. _Hmm… Komachi's shoes are here which means she's not gone yet. I can hear the exhaust fan. It's not too loud which means it's the bathroom one. Not the kitchen one. It's not too quiet either which would mean the door is open. She doesn't shower with the door open. Conclusion, she just recently finished showering and left the fan on to let the steam escape. This would mean she hasn't eaten breakfast either_ , all these thoughts went through Hachiman's brain within a few microseconds.

Deduction and how to think like a detective were also part of his JSDF curriculum. All day on the weekends and every day three hours in the evening after club. His training included modern combat techniques and strategies, guerilla warfare, sabotage and espionage, and basic knowledge lessons about every mainstream field. He told his parents and club members that he had gotten a part-time job. Well… it was technically the truth. Hachiman got busy making breakfast for his sister.

"Morning Onii-chan," Komachi said in a quiet voice, with a blush on her face as she came down the stairs when he was almost done. Hachiman had taken his shirt off since it was way too hot in the house, and his body, still glistening with sweat could not be ignored by any woman… or man for that matter (if you included Totsuka and Zaimokuza since they had seen him shirtless once before on a beach trip). Still, the pain in her heart wouldn't go away when she saw the scars and small bruises. She was the only one that knew about his real job, but about that too she only knew that he worked for the JSDF. Nothing else. Though she couldn't help but feel a special kind of happiness knowing she was the one he trusted the most.

"Morning Komachi. Have a seat. I'll have breakfast ready for you in a bit," he said, smiling at her. Thankfully, because of the glasses, Hachiman did not have a creepy stalker smile anymore. In fact, in his own opinion, he'd even say that he was just slightly above average. It really was too bad he couldn't wear them to school. After all, you can't maintain a low profile if you're the centre of attention.

 **...**

The siblings mounted Hachiman's trusted bike-chan as he started pedalling towards school. His calves burned as he cursed himself for not taking a long enough break. He had already run a long-ass distance and now pulling two people's weight on a bike? Dammit, his legs were so going to feel like jelly at the end of the day.

Hachiman's contract was to maintain a proper image anywhere outside his school, which meant even now, he had the combed hair. But this time, instead of glasses, he wore his trusty aviators that all the pilots got once they completed their training. That would be the main reason why he was garnering so many glances as they rode down the street.

Komachi hopped off the bike once they arrived and Hachiman quickly locked it in his usual spot.

"Bye, Onii-chan," she waved as she started to run off.

"Oi! Dumbass! You forgot your bag!" Hachiman shouted after her. She stopped and turned.

"Waahhh! Sorry~! But Onii-chan, that was really low in my book, calling me a dumbass. Mou~," she puffed her cheeks and pouted. How did she manage to look so cute even while being so annoying?

He grabbed her bag with one hand, waving her to 'come here' with his other one. Komachi rolled her eyes in exasperation. Her brother could so strict at the weirdest times. He could just walk to her and hand her the bag since they were both going the same way, but NOOOO, she had to come and take it and then walk away. Well… either way, she still loved him. After all, he was her one and only Hachiman.

As she took the bag from him, he wrapped his free arm around her shoulders and leaned down, planting a love-filled kiss on her forehead. "Well, I hope that makes up all the points I lost. Bye Komachi! Love Ya! See ya later!" he said as he walked away to his homeroom, leaving behind a blushing, stuttering Komachi.

"O-O-Onii-chan, you BAKA!" he heard from behind and smirked as he continued walking. Hachiman ran his hands through his hair, messing it up so that it was back to his old style and carefully took off his favourite pair of glasses and put it away.

In a few seconds, gone was 'Hachiman the soldier, and back was 'Hikigaya Hachiman the loner' that everyone hated.

Hachiman's third-year class wasn't too different from his second year. The only significant character missing was his one true love, Totsuka. Even with that being said, he would always come for a short time before class and during lunch to talk to and visit Hachiman and Yui.

Hachiman activated one of his 108 loner skills, 'Stealth-Hikki', and opened the door. As expected, a couple of glances were thrown his way, mostly from Yui's clique. Other than that, no one gave a damn. He quickly and quietly made his way to his seat and pretended to sleep.

"Hikki!" a voice called out to him. There was only one person in the world who would call him that, and the only one he allowed.

"Yo, Yui." He greeted her, observing how she looked at him worriedly.

"Are you okay? You seem a bit more tired than usual today," she asked nicely. He thought back to how he ran that extra 2.5 km and still biked to school.

"Yeah…" he replied, waving away her concern. "I'm fine thanks for asking, Yui. Though, forget about me, how are you?" He quickly changed the topic. Unfortunately, becoming more social was also a requirement for becoming able to manipulate people easily. _Sorry, Yui. I'm using you as practice_ , he apologized in his mind, though she wasn't able to continue as his beautiful, unmarried sensei walked in.

"We'll talk later," she said, smiling kindly at him as she walked back to her seat.

"Everyone to your seat," Shizuka ordered as she walked up to her desk. "Class is starting."

Her eyes quickly surveyed the classroom and noted down who was absent. Her sweeping gaze paused at Hachiman for just a second, going unnoticed by everyone except for the boy in question. Regardless, she quickly regained her bearings and started the lesson.

As class ended Shizuka announced, "Hikigaya. My office. Now."

Hachiman looked at her, silently asking what he had done, yet all he received as an answer was an expression he couldn't quite decipher. It was almost a mix of emotions. Anger, sadness, worry, confusion… but most of all, love.

"Hai, sensei," he answered nonetheless, his brain going at the speed of light, trying to figure out what might've happened.

Hachiman knocked on her door and a strong voice came from the other side. "Yeah?"

"Sensei, it's me," Hachiman said, still mulling over why she would call him like this. Hachiman and Shizuka's relation weren't a simple student-teacher one. It was definitely something more and both of them knew it. Eh looked up to her, admired her. She was like a role model to him and even he knew that he wouldn't be speaking the whole truth if he were to say he didn't harbour romantic feelings for her. She was basically the woman of his dreams. The only problem was that they were ten years apart and society would look down upon them were they to…

And even for Shizuka, it would be a lie if she were to say she didn't love him. She remembered when she saw him and had felt so entranced by his personality. He was rotten to the core… and yet she felt something towards him. Something telling her to claim him, show him the world, guide him on the right path and make him hers.

"Enter, Hachiman," Shizuka said. She frequently used his first name when they were alone. He opened the door to see Shizuka seated, not on her usual office chair, but instead on one of the comfortable sofa's that she had beside her desk. She motioned for him to join her on the sofa, but he opted to stay standing in front of her.

The student and teacher remained in complete and utter silence. It was Shizuka who spoke first. "Hachiman," she began, trying to approach the topic carefully. "Somehow I feel like you, being in the Service Club, still isn't helping your personality much."

Hachiman rose an eyebrow in confusion why so suddenly? "Why do you say that, sensei?"

Shizuka sighed. "Listen, Hachiman. I don't know why, but I, for some reason, feel like when you're showing that 'improved' side of yours, it's all just an act."

"And… why would you say that?"

"I don't know. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that your eyes still look as depressed and rotten as ever," she said getting a little annoyed.

"Sensei, I'm pretty sure my eyes are like these just because of the stress of being in the third year. You know, college and all," he said, vainly trying to make an excuse.

"Hmm… I guess that makes sense. It's partially probably also because of sleep-deprivation. After all, you have school, the Service Club, the Self-Improvement Program, and you part time job also."

"Yes, sensei that's right," Hachiman said but even as he did, he couldn't help but feel that something was off.

"Well, then, as your homeroom teacher, and guidance counsellor, it's my job to help you out, don't you think?" Shizuka said, trying to coax him into talking to her.

Hachiman chuckled, thinking it was just his teacher wanting to spend more time with him. Well… he would exactly mind. "Haha, sure sensei."

Shizuka smiled happily. "Good. Take a seat and let's start," she said, and Hachiman sat down beside her.

"Now. Let's start at the top. What time do you wake up?" Shizuka was also one of the people he trusted the most. He had no reason to lie to her.

"5:30 usually."

"What? Why so early?"

"I have to go for a run. It's part of the training schedule of the Self-Improvement Program."

"Hmm… ok then where do you run?"

"Just around the community. Not too much. I don't think the run makes me tired, sensei. If anything, I believe it rejuvenates me. Gives me more energy."

"Yeah, but where exactly, Hikigaya?" Hachiman raised his eyebrows once again as he felt confused why she would ask him about this in so much detail.

"Oh, just through the park trail, then as soon as I reach the playground, I turn back," he said, lying about this. No matter who it was. No one shall know about this.

"That means you don't go over the bridge?" That was oddly specific. Why would she… Hachiman stilled for a second as he realized… she knew.

 _He_ kept his face perfectly void of any emotions. Shizuka was taking in every single detail. A small screw up and he would be done for. He couldn't even let a single muscle twitch. As much as he trusted her and loved her, he couldn't possibly let her find out more about… about everything.

"What bridge sensei? I haven't really been beyond the playground in quite a long time," he lied skillfully. Too bad for him, it was at that moment that Shizuka also realized he knew what she was talking about.

Shizuka sighed as she adopted her no-nonsense attitude. "Drop the bullshit, Hachiman. You and I both know what I'm talking about," she said in a strict tone.

"I really don't know what you're talking about, sensei," he said as he stood up. "Ah, let's finish this later, shall we? I've gotta go to the washroom," he said and started walking away but before he could reach the door, a strong hand stopped him, holding onto his own arm. The vice-like grip stopped him dead in his track.

"Hachiman," Shizuka said with a pleading tone.

He looked down, refusing to meet her eyes. "Sensei, please…" he said.

"Please, what, Hachiman?" she asked as her own face morphed into one of worry. "Please, what? 'Please leave me alone and let me kill myself'? or maybe 'Please let my crippling depression go loose and kill me from the inside'?" she asked. "Do you have any idea how I felt when I saw you? Do you know how many people would be devastated by your death?"

Hachiman scoffed. "Yeah, right," he said sarcastically. "I can count on seven fingers the people who would be sad about my death."

"And that's seven too many," Shizuka said as she pulled him so that they were both standing face to face. "Why do you do this, Hachiman?"

"I'm tired, dammit!"

"Tired of what?"

"Tired of this! Everything! This life! This school! This… This… This whole world!"

"And killing yourself is going to make the problems go away?" she asked him.

"No," he answered as he looked at her. "But at least they won't be my problems anymore. At least the pain will end." Tears streamed on his cheeks as he smiled. It wasn't a happy one. It was a smile that made Shizuka want to hold him and make all his worries go away… and that's exactly what she did.

Shizuka wrapped her arms around him as she pulled him, pushing his face in her chest. She hugged him as if trying to hold together a shattered mirror. Because that's exactly what she saw in him. A reflection of her own younger self, trying to just power through each day with waning courage.

Hachiman wept into her chest as he too held onto her as a falling mountain climber would to a rope. "It's okay. I've got you. It'll be alright," Shizuka whispered to him as she raked her hands through his hair, trying to calm him down. After fifteen minutes which felt more like fifteen hours to her, she finally felt his sobs slow down to sniffles. Shizuka brought her hand to Hachiman's chin and lifted it so that she could see him. Her lips lifted into a small smile as she placed a loving kiss to his forehead. "I want you to listen to me, Hachiman, and remember these words forever. This is what saved me, and it is what I want you to take to heart," she said, making sure she had his undivided attention. Finally, she said the words that would stop Hachiman from ending his life on multiple occasions. " **Suicide doesn't end the pain. It just passes it on to someone else.** "

 **...**

 **Hachiman. Few days before graduation.**

Finally, the time had come where most people's 'youth' came to an end. Sobu High's graduation was drawing near and with that Hachiman had also passed the JSDF – Youth Militia Program in record time. Most people took upwards of 2 or even 3 years to be able to classify as an 'FNG', but Hachiman wasn't most people. Not having a will to live and having an intense sense of duty towards your country also motivated him a great deal but that was beside the point.

From the YMP, the brass had come to a conclusion that Hachiman had immense untapped potential as a sniper, so immediately they had transferred him to the SFA (Special Forces Academy) for Assault Operator and Sniper/Spotter training. After graduating from there, he was still too young to have his cover exposed or to be sent overseas. As such, they instead assigned him to a Special Assault Team that dealt with 'local' disturbances. Assassinations, hostage rescue, anti-piracy, anti-terrorism, etc.

As a result, the frequency of his visits to the Service Club had also taken a nosedive. He down to a mere four visits a week and rarely ever went out on weekends.

Sobu High's graduation ceremony was to be held in a few days and that just served as another headache for Hachiman. _C_ _eremony… What a joke,_ _he thought, irritated at the meagre thought of the event._ _Just a new psychotic way they came up with, to celebrate mediocrity. GRADUATING HIGH SCHOOL IS NOT AN ACCOMPLISHMENT PEOPLE, IT'S THE STANDARD_ , he wanted to shout at all the students around him. The classroom was buzzing with energy and a unique type of excitement permeated the atmosphere.

Today was one of the free periods for the third years, which, in short, basically meant 'do whatever the hell you want as long as you don't break any laws', and because of that, an ungodly number of people had been squeezed into the classroom. There was Yui's clique, Zaimokuza, Totsuka, both the Yukinoshitas and Meguri, that weakling Sagami's clique, and Iroha too.

Something clicked in the back of Hachiman's mind as he squinted his eyes and slightly frowned. He swivelled his head to look at his cute foxy kouhai. "Wait a sec," he said confusedly. "Iroha, aren't you a second year?" he asked. She shouldn't be there. After all, she still had a year to go.

"Ah! Don't mind the details senpai!" Iroha answered with a dismissive wave. "You'll never get a girlfriend if you stay like that," she scolded.

Hachiman's forehead gained a tick mark as that statement annoyed the hell out of him. Still the same joke over and over again. Give him break, goddammit. He didn't have the time, the energy, or the feelings that were needed for a relationship. He only loved one person and even that would be forbidden love… Hah… Great. Just thinking about it got him depressed again. Wanting revenge, he thought, _you know what? Let's see how all of you like it_.

With a quick glance, he laughed loud enough for a few people to turn their eyes on him. Finishing his laugh, he said, "Hah! Joke's on you. I already have a girlfriend."

The silence that followed was deafening. Every eye was on him and you could've heard a pin drop. Even Shizuka who had been talking to another teacher looked at him in surprise and disbelief. Their reactions were too funny, but at the same time, they stung. Did they really think he was that incompetent? And when the feelings finally go too much to bear, he reverted to his old way, doing what he always did best. Social suicide, and self-deprecation. He laughed. Not one that came from him truly, but instead one that he had practiced a million times. The fake hollow guffaws sounded through the classroom like church bells tolling and yet, no one could tell the difference except his one and only sensei. "Pfft… Ahahahah, I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Do you really think someone like me could get a girlfriend?"

The self-deprecating humour was collectively disregarded and multiple sighs were heard. Yui, Yukino, Isshiki, Shizuka, Haruno, and Tobe all sagged their shoulders in relief. Wait… speaking of, _OI! TOBE! Why the hell are you relieved?_

"Hikigaya-kun," Yukino's voice rang out clear and smooth as it always did. "Has your rottenness spread from your eyes to your brain too? Or is it your mouth? I wish you refrain from making such jokes again as I fear for the health of everyone around us." She seemed visibly angry.

"Th- That's right, Hikki!" Yui agreed also trying to desperately hide how worried she was… and consequently failing. It was hilarious to Hachiman.

"Senpai," Iroha also said, breaking out of her stupor. "Were you trying to make me jealous? Was that your way of indirectly asking me out? Sorry that nearly made me angry, but now that I think about it, you'll have to do it directly." She bowed. Ah, it was interesting how no one realized she was basically confessing to him. But in end, he guessed it didn't really matter. He wasn't here for long anyway.

"Ne, Hikitani-kun, you really had me going there, bro! That was a good one! AHAHAH!" Tobe obnoxiously said.

"Well whatever," Hachiman said as he stood up, getting tired of this farce. "I'm going to the clubroom. This place is a bit too crowded for a loner like me. I need some peace and quiet." He really did need a place to get his thoughts and feelings in order. And too maybe shed a few tears too. He'd have preferred to be with Shizuka or Komachi but having either of them gone at the same time that he was would be too suspicious.

"Ah! Senpai, I'll come too!"

"Yeah, me too, Hikki."

"Didn't you both **just** hear me? I said I need some **peace and quiet** ," Hachiman stressed.

"Mou~ Hikki! I promise I'll be quiet!"

Hachiman scoffed. "Right. And I promise I'll turn into a dragon," he said with a chuckle.

"Hikki!" Yui exclaimed as she pouted and started her barrage of her cute tiny fists on his arm.

"Hah… Fine, fine," he said, getting another idea. The perfect way to shut everyone up. Except maybe the older Yukinoshita. Now that he thought about it, this was something very similar to what she'd do. _On my life, I hope I don't turn into Haruno_ _, he prayed as he executed his plan flawlessly._ "I guess it's fine if it's you."

Another bout of silence enveloped the class. He saw Yui's face turn red and mentally smirked. Then he glanced around, deciding to deal the final blow. "Geez, I wonder what you perverts and thinking about," he said and quickly, the class went back to doing what they were doing, all the while having a huge blush on their faces… except for Haruno. She was almost rolling on the floor while laughing.

The silence still hung in the air as an awkward atmosphere prevailed in the classroom. That's why, when Hachiman's phone rang, all the attention was on him again. With fluid motions, he pulled it out and looked at the caller id. [Adolf Hitler]. A chuckle escaped him as he thought of how brilliant it was. Setting the JSDF number as 'Adolf Hitler' was one of the greatest ideas he's ever had. He could just play it off as dark humour if anyone saw and no one would ask twice.

"Senpai… why is Hitler calling you?" His foxy kouhai asked as she peeked at the screen. Confused murmurs spread through the class and Hachiman berated himself for not paying enough attention. Just great… now everyone and their mother knew there was some demented shit going on with him.

Hachiman sighed as he flicked her forehead.

"Ow," she said, rubbing the spot he had touched. "Mou~ Senpaaiii~ So mean…" she said, faking hurt.

Hachiman shook his head with a humorous smile. "Isshiki, I think it's considered rude to look at other's phones ya knooow~" he imitated her, and she looked away guilty. "Now if you'll excuse me, this is an urgent call," he said stepping out the classroom and sliding the door shut behind him.

He swiped the screen and put the phone to his ear. "Eight," he spoke in fluent English.

"[Go secure.]" Hachiman brought the phone down and tapped the lock icon. He waited till the phone connected to one of the military towers which operated on a gigahertz frequency range.

"Go."

"[We have a situation.]"

 _Seriously_ , Hachiman thought. _This the literally the worst moment they could've called me_. "Now? I'm in school," he said, getting irritated.

"[High-value hostage recovery,]" the voice answered promptly, knowing Hachiman would try to deny this.

"Damn." He didn't have a choice. "Where?" he asked. Might as well get this over with.

"[Honshu Island.]" That was pretty damn far.

"How the hell do you expect me to get there?"

"[We have a C-130 on the way. You have two minutes to get your ass on the rooftop with the balloon.]"

Hachiman blinked. Were these guys fucking serious? "Are you fucking serious?" he voiced his thoughts. "You… you're gonna do a Fulton Recovery from my school rooftop!? Everyone is going to see. My cover will be blown to shit."

"[It's an order from the higher-ups. We're voiding the contract. Even if your cover is blown, you only have a few days till you're done. No one's going to care.]"

"I'm gonna care!" he argued. "You need permission from **BOTH** signing parties to void the contract!"

"[Are you seriously going to argue about this, Eight?]" Shit… he didn't have a choice.

"Goddammit. Fine. Fucking fine. I'm on my way," he said, cutting the calling and turning around to tell Shizuka he had a family emergency. What greeted him instead, was an open door, wide eyes, and gaping jaws. _Ah, shit_ , he thought knowing there was no way out of this. Welp, time to put those quick-thinking skills to good use. Furthermore, he didn't have nearly enough time to make excuses and explain his actions.

"Sensei!" he called out, getting Shizuka's attention immediately. "I'm sorry, but I've got an emergency and I've gotta go. NOW! I swear I'll explain later," he yelled and took off.

"Hachiman! Wait!" she called out behind him, but Hachiman was gone, God knew where.

He arrived at the spot where the balloon was stored and equipped it swiftly, just like he was trained to. He had done it thousands of time during practice and now it was practically muscle memory. Hachiman straightened himself and raked his hand through his hair, sloppily combing it and still getting a sort of rugged handsome look. Now that they didn't give a crap about his cover, no point in hiding his true self, right?

He put on his trusty aviators to protect his eyes from the wind when the aircraft picked him up and started running back the way he came to get to the rooftop. _1 minute 45 seconds to go._ "Shit! Get out the fucking way!" he shouted as he saw Yui, Yukino, Isshiki, and Haruno around the hallway and the classroom looking for him.

"WAAHHH!" all of them flinched as he sprinted past them and started climbing the stairs at an inhumane speed.

"Wha… Was that… Hikigaya-kun?" asked Yukino with eyes as wide as Naruto's ramen bowls.

"Yes," Haruno answered confidently, recognizing that look. "Yes, it was."

"Should… Should we follow him?" Iroha asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I think he's in trouble," Meguri said, getting ready to follow before Yui's voice stopped them all.

"I… I don't think we should. We should respect his privacy, right guys?" she asked uncertainly. They were all silenced by the thought and the fact that Yui was the one who thought of it.

"No," Yukino's assured voice rang out, getting everyone's attention. "Hikigaya-kun looked like he was in trouble. I don't care if anyone else comes. I will be going to help him," she finished and took off towards the roof as she realized that's where he was headed. She glanced back and saw the others were also hot on her heels.

Hachiman made it to the rooftop just in time and looked to the east while inflating the balloon. A few seconds later, a goliath descended from the clouds. He choked on air as he mentally cursed his superiors. This was a C-130, it was a fucking C-17 Globemaster… and the pull that he would feel from this leviathan… he would be lucky to come away with just a concussion.

Hachiman slipped his hand in his pocket and pulled out his mask. Once more practiced motions came to him like second nature and he glided it on his face smoothly. The balloon rose up into the sky as the airplane came into view. He merely watched and waited.

A few seconds later, a voice came, "SENPAI!"

Hachiman whipped his head to the side and snapped his arm up as he saw the girls emerged on to the rooftop. "Stay right where you are!" he warned. "Just watch. I swear I'll explain everything later."

The plane came closer and closer, and Hachiman braced for impact. He felt a slight tug on his back and the next thing he knew, he was flying away trying to keep his brain from dropping out of his head.

 **...**

 **Haruno PoV**

"What the hell…" I muttered to myself. "Who the hell is this guy?" In my opinion, that question was very much warranted. Who the hell gets picked up by a military aircraft from the rooftop of a SCHOOL!? Moreover, he wasn't even an adult and as such, still a minor and I know for a fact, minors aren't allowed to enlist in the military. It's one of the most basic laws.

"Indeed. This is very strange…" said my cute little Yukino-chan. Ah, seems like I had spoken a bit too loudly. Whoops. But this is almost perfect for the situation. The first time I lost my composure in over five years, and it's Hikigaya-kun who made me do it. I always knew that boy was special since I first laid eyes on him.

"Well there's the understatement of the year," retorted Iroha-chan, while Gahama-san still stood there speechless, and utterly confused.

"What does one have to do… to get airlifted from a school!?" Yukino-chan asked, seemingly having the same train of thought as me. AH! I bet Shizuka-chan knows something about this. Time to go ask my best friend!

I start descending the stairs in order to pull as much information as possible out of my beloved Shizuka-chan. Seeing me leave also woke Yukino-chan and the other two from their trance.

"Nee-san!" she called out and I turned back to look at her. Her eyes were pleading for more information. "Do you have any idea what just happened? I'm sure you have connections in high places. You can find out right?" she asked, looking at me with that 'lost kitten' look. My heart melted as I just couldn't deny that face.

Our relationship had improved since last year, so she didn't hesitate to rely on me a little bit. Hmm… Now that I think about it, that was also all because of Hikigaya-kun. I still remembered the events of last winter. In fact, I don't think I would ever be able to forget that night. Hikigaya-kun had said such mean words to me. Some that I didn't even know. He hadn't held back even slightly while insulting me. All of it, right in front of Yukino-chan. I only found out why he did that when he himself apologized in a dogeza. While he berated me, Yukino-chan had jumped in to save me just as I was about to lose my shit. He did all that just to prove that Yukino-chan didn't hate me and really did care about me. He had sacrificed his own relation with Yukino-chan, just for my sake. Even though he called me the 'She-Devil'. A sigh escaped my lips as I realized how close everyone here had gotten. I guess they all deserved to know at least a little bit more.

"Fine, I'll tell you," I said, giving in to my little sister's demands. "Let's meet up with Shizuka-chan first, shall we~?" I said sweetly. I didn't know if they were ready to hear what I planned on telling them… To be honest, I should probably confront the young man himself about this but… I had to do it. God knows how alone he already is. He could use some emotional support from his friends. At least, if he considers us friends.

We turned the corner, and everyone paused for a second, confusion marring our faces as we found a crowd gathered in the hallway, looking out the window. As we approached, the students began to turn their attention towards us. "Hey Yui," asked the blonde bimbo. "That wasn't Hikio just now, was it?"

I narrowed my eyes. This was the second time today I was thrown for a loop. I knew who this bitch was. Yumiko Miura. Hayato's **tool** for keeping other bitches away from him. Hikigaya-kun knew that. I knew that. Yukino-chan knew that. Hayato knew that. Shizuka-chan knew that. And I'm pretty sure the bimbo herself, also knew that. So why… Why the hell do I sense an undercurrent of worry in her voice!? What the hell am I missing here!? What was her relationship to Hikigaya-kun!? If there was one thing, I hated more than being ignored, it was not having all the information.

"H-Hey Yumiko! Uh, yeah that was Hikki but even I don't know what's happening. Hahaha" Gahama-san nervously said. Ah shit, I can't stand this atmosphere anymore.

"Shizuka-chan~" I called out. "Can we all please have a meeting in your office? Now," I said, subtlety hinting at the urgency of the situation at hand.

"Hmm," she nodded and promptly started walking away, implying for us to follow her.

 **...**

It was Gahama-san, StuCo President-chan, Yukino, and me seated in Shizuka-chan's office with the woman herself sitting behind her desk. Silence encased the room and it seemed no one wanted to break it.

"So? Haruno? What did you want to talk about?" Shizuka-chan asked, breaking the tension.

"Ahaha," I chuckled, further trying to lighten the atmosphere. It didn't work. "Always straight to the point, I see. Well, that's good. It's about Hikigaya-kun."

"Yes, we know that, Haruno-san. Do you know something about senpai, Haruno-san?" Iroha-chan asked. Jeez, you could ask nicely, y'know~ Ah, whatever. I'm not going to get into an argument with high school kids.

I cleared my throat as I started explaining. "That airplane that airlifted him right now," I started. All of them except Shizuka-chan leaned in, "was a military transport aircraft."

A shared "Huh!?" was heard through the room.

"Not only that…" I continued, "it was an aircraft that belong to the United States Air Force."

"What!? Nee-san, how can you say that for sure?" Yukino-chan asked with a bewildered expression.

 _Simple observation skills_ , I wanted to say but I felt like this wasn't the proper time for teasing her. Instead, I opted to just explain. "On the tail, there was the U.S.A.F. insignia, and on the underside of the wing, it said 'U.S.A.F.'," they all stared at me in disbelief. "Plus, I watch the news, unlike you guys."

"Huh? What do you mean, Haruno?" Shizuka-chan asked. It seemed even she was at a loss here.

"Two or three U.S. Military squadrons arrived in Japan to conduct a joint training exercise with the JASDF."

"When was this?"

"Mmm~ About a week ago?"

 **[*insert Bobby Shmurda here*]**

"Hah…" Shizuka-chan sighed loudly. "God knows what that kid is up to," she said, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"There another thing," I said, once more gaining their attention. I hesitated a little, not knowing if I should tell them this. It really wasn't my place, but… but the boy needed help. And these girls are the only ones – save for his sister – who could come even remotely close to gaining his trust. That's why deserved to know… Right? "You know, I always wake up early, and go on jogs. After all, this body doesn't come for free."

"Nee-san, I don't think any of us are interested in that," aww, Yukino-chan. You can be so mean sometimes.

"That's not it. What I wanted to tell you, was that I always see Hikigaya-kun when I'm on my run too. And not just jogging… He **sprints**. I've seen him sprinting for more than ten kilometres, every day." Yep. As expected, everyone was wide-eyed. Except for Shizuka-chan. She had a look of realization on her face. I wonder if she knows too…

I continued. "Once, I was on one of the minor bridges and I saw him-,"

 **BOOM!**

I jumped and so did all the others as they turned their heads to look at the table. Shizuka-chan's fist had almost dented the thing. And… Why is she glaring at me?

"I believe that's enough, Haruno. I'm sure he wouldn't like it if we dug too deep into his personal life," she said, and I immediately realized.

She definitely knows. But then, why is she stopping me!? Doesn't she also realize that he needs help? Why the hell would she want his suicidal tendencies to continue!?

"Shizuka-chan… What are you saying?" I asked in case I had heard wrong. "He needs help! You saw what happened there didn't you!?" She's a teacher for god's sake! Isn't it supposed to be her job to help students with their problems!?

"Yes. I did, and I confronted him about it," by now, everyone else was just looking back and forth between us, eager to find out everything. "And he told me not to pry any further and that he will seek help if he needs it. I, for one, will respect his wishes and I want you to do the same."

"BUT," I began, but was quickly interrupted.

"NO! Haruno. Let's leave this matter alone." I couldn't believe this woman.

"A-Are you serious!? We're his friends! If anyone can help him, it's us!" by now, Shizuka-chan face was contorted and showing a mix of emotions, ranging from worry to annoyance. "He's hurting inside! HE'S BROKEN! I'm sure you can see that too!"

"I know that, dammit!" she screamed at me, almost in tears. "You don't think I know that? You don't think **I** know that? Every single day, **I'm** the one who has to see his face when teaching the class. **I'm** the one who has to gaze into those lifeless eyes and feel like I can't do shit about it! So, don't you dare preach to **me** how much he's hurting because I see it every fucking day with the knowledge that I can't do jack shit about it even if I want to!" Her chest heaved up and down as her laboured breaths shook her entire frame. "I need a drink, goddammit," she said, and pulled open the bottom drawer of her desk, pulling out two flasks of sake.

 **...**

 **Hachiman. In the C-17.**

As soon as they reeled him into the aircraft, Hachiman quickly changed into his combat gear. His AS50 had already been oiled and cleaned for him so he didn't need to worry about anything on that front.

"Eight," he heard and looked to his right. Another masked man walked towards him and handed him a small tablet.

"Striker. Nice seeing you again. I see you still have all your fingers," he joked, conversing in fluent English. All military conversations were done in English. Such was the JSOC protocol.

"I only need one," Striker said holding up his middle finger in front of Hachiman. The two soldiers shared a laugh for a moment before getting serious. "You're gonna make a HALO jump in 10 minutes. Target is mentally deranged and extremely dangerous. We can't get a shot on him cuz he keeps moving around. Think you can make that 600-meter shot?"

"He's on a boat?" Hachiman asked.

"Yep. You'll have to account for the waves and shit too."

"Why can't you just get a scuba squad to do it?"

"The nearest team is in Indonesia right now on a mission. Your immature ass is the quickest and best option."

"Oh, you flatter me," Hachiman batted his eyes mockingly.

"Eat a bag of dicks, Eight," Striker said while walking away, "I'll tell you when it's time to jump."

"Got it."

Hachiman got ready as the back of the aircraft opened up slowly. He looked out, observing with amused eyes how the people and the cars and everything looked like small ants. He relished in the feeling – even if it wasn't real – of having the entire world in your palm.

A buzzer rang out and he saw the light turn from red to green.

"Later, Eight," Striker's voice came through the speaker. Hachiman saluted with two fingers as he jumped out. Air rushed around him as a feeling of weightlessness took over. He adjusted his course to land where he was supposed to and kept falling through the atmosphere as he waited to reach the opening altitude.

 **...**

After landing on the ground, Hachiman quickly made his way towards his nest and set himself up. "Striker, what's the wind speed?" he spoke into the radio.

"[6 km/h coming from the east]" Hachiman turned a knob in the scope and he adjusted accordingly.

"I have visual," he said as the crosshairs of his scope fit snugly on the head of the terrorist.

"[Stand by… Execute, Execute,]" Hachiman squeezed the trigger on the first 'Execute' and smiled as he saw a fountain of blood.

"[Tango down, hostage secure. Nice shooting. What does this make, Eight?]"

"Seventy-seven."

"[Goddamn… You are one badass son-of-a-bitch you know that?]"

Hachiman smiled wider. He loved his job.

 **...**

 **Hachiman. After school.**

A lonely young man stood outside the room where he'd usually be at this time of day. He sighed and mentally went over the cover story his commander had given him. He was back to his 'rotten' looking self. Using a single hand, he opened the door and found eight pairs of eyes staring at him.

"Yo," he said, uttering his usual greeting.

"Welcome back, Hikigaya-kun," said the 'ice-queen' as he had loved to call her.

He casually made his way towards his usual spot, sat down, and took out his light novel. Before starting to read, he asked one question. "So… what's the request?"

"… Huh? What do you mean, Hikki?" came the voice of a confused airhead.

"Well, Yui, I mean since apart from Yukino, Komachi, sensei, you, and me, everyone that's here must be here for a reason, right?" he asked as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Actually, Hikigaya-kun… we would like for you to explain everything that happened this afternoon, as you promised us," said the Service Club President. Hachiman sighed. Damn, he didn't get paid enough for this.

 _Here goes nothing_ , he thought as he began. He glanced at everyone in the room. Shizuka, Haruno, Yui, Yukino, Iroha, Komachi, Yumiko, Hayato. _Wait, why are those two here again? Whatever, this might just make my job a shit ton easier. Won't have to go the extra mile to spread rumours about myself._

"I… My part-time job. I'm working for a national research laboratory. What I work on, is completely classified information. No one except the prime minister, my boss, my coworkers, and I know about the project. Oh, and a few other people who aren't even supposed to exist. Anyways, let's just say, something went wrong there, and if I hadn't reached in time… well… there would've been some pretty big problems," he explained smoothly. By now, everyone in the room other than Komachi had a look of utter bafflement on their faces. Haruno too, but she did a better job at hiding than the others.

"… I… I see. Well, thank you for sharing that information with us."

"Yeah, no problem. Just don't tell anyone. This stuff is top secret info." They all sat in silence for a moment, brains still processing everything, before it was finally broken by Haruno.

"I have another question, Hikigaya-kun!" she said while smiling sweetly. That smile meant trouble. He braced himself for what might come.

"Shoot."

"Hmm… A few months ago. Early morning. Bridge near the playground. Ring any bells?"

 _HOW MANY FUCKING PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT THIS?_ He internally screamed, though his face didn't betray his expressions.

"I'm sorry Yukinoshita-san, but no, it actually doesn't. Would you mind elaborating?"

"Oh~ Not at all," Haruno practically purred. Everyone's eyes other than Yumiko, Hayato, and Komachi were on Hachiman trying to find even the slightest tell. "You see, I was on my early morning run, resting on a bridge near a playground. Then, a handsome young man caught my eye. Though you won't believe what he was holding," she paused for dramatic effect, while Hachiman was running through millions of scenarios in his head on how to get her to stop without making it seem suspicious, but alas, he was too late. "He was holding a gun."

"What?" came the question from multiple people. Shizuka was holding her head in her hands as she clenched her teeth.

Komachi whipped her head towards Hachiman, her eyes practically screaming 'murder'. Hachiman prayed she wouldn't blow up on him before he at least had a chance to explain himself. Komachi looked back at Haruno at she continued.

"Not only that… he was pointing it as himself."

They didn't think they could be any more surprised, but this was just a huge blow delivered.

"More precisely, at his head. And then he snapped the trigger, but nothing happened, and he walked away. Still doesn't ring any bells?"

 _Well, this is as perfect a time as ever, I guess… might as well end everything here_ , he thought as he made up his mind. What was the point anyway? Not like they were going to care about each other in the future, right?

"Hehe," he chuckled as he looked dead into Haruno's eyes, "you got one thing wrong, Yukinoshita-san."

"O-Oh?" she stuttered, not expecting this reply. "And what might that be?"

"I didn't snap the trigger; I squeezed it. Snapping the trigger throws off your aim, and-," he was interrupted as a loud screech was heard. Komachi's chair clattered backwards as she got up. Tears streamed down her cheeks and her eyes were narrowed. Her face was twisted into an expression that couldn't be described as mere anger. She was livid.

She walked up to Hachiman and held him by his collar.

" **You fucking liar** ," she growled out and everyone – Hachiman included – was taken aback by her outburst. "You promised me to never do that again. You promised to never attempt suicide ever again and you fucking broke it! When will you learn?! When will to get it through your think motherfucking skull that there are people who actually care about you! THERE ARE PEOPLE WHOSE HEARTS BREAK EACH TIME THEY SEE YOU HURT YOURSELF!" Komachi realized she couldn't take it anymore. She let go of her brother and bolted from the room, slamming the door behind her.

Once more, silence descended on the room as everyone's eyes were on Hachiman. He took a deep breath to calm his furiously beating heart. His soldier training took over behaviour and mannerisms as he was trained to do in overly emotional situations.

"Ah… don't worry you guys. She'll be back to her cheerful self in no time," he said flashing a nice smile. One that didn't look creepy. He was doing literally everything in his power to not run after her and tell her how sorry he was and how much he loved her.

"Hikigaya-kun… You shouldn't take someone's feeling that lightly," came the ever-smooth voice of Hayato and something inside Hachiman finally snapped. If there was one thing Hachiman absolutely despised, it was hypocrisy. He stood up and looked at the blond with a murderous look in his eyes.

"Shut your motherfucking dick-sucker, you fuckhead. You are the last fucker I wanna hear saying that. Your fucking hypocrite ass is gonna tell me to not fuck around with other's emotions while you sat here for three fucking years and just straight up used," he pointed at Yumiko, "this innocent woman's feeling towards you to keep other horny bitches off of you. You fucking used her as a tool fuckhead, and now you're just gonna throw her away as soon as you enter college, aren't you?"

"Hikitani-kun! She didn't need to hear any of that!" This just got Hachiman even angrier.

"Fuck you, you little shit! You godfucking-shitheaded-pooeating-foureyed-bigheaded-pedofilic-godforesaken-pissdrinking-assfucking-homofilic-beerbellied-mophaired-cronical-heroinaddicted-tetanussuffering-monkeyassed-cocksucking-hepatitisinfected-gangreneinfested-pimplefaced-bugeyed-gasolineinhaling-cokewhore cunt, go fuck yourself," Hachiman said in a homicidal tone and walked out, leaving behind Hayato, Yukino, and Shizuka with their mouth agape, Yui, and Isshiki utterly confused, Yumiko on the verge of tears (of gratitude, or fear, no one knew), and Haruno rolling on the floor with laughter.

 **...**

Darkness cloaked his home and confused Hachiman for a second before he realized Komachi probably didn't want to see his face. He wondered where she was and was about to go to find her but sounds of small sobs and sniffles stopped him. Hachiman left the lights off and went around and sat beside his sister on the sofa. "I'm sorry," he said, not knowing what else he could possibly say to her.

"That's… That's it?" she asked in between sobs.

"Well, no…" he said. "But that was just first and foremost. I have one more confession to make to you." Hachiman took a deep breath, readying himself for what he was about to do. "This will make you disgusted of me, and I'm completely fine with that. I know I'm a shithead of a brother, but I'm sorry. I have to tell you this before I leave."

"Leave where?" she asked as she looked up at him in fear. All the anger lay forgotten.

"Right after I graduate, I will be deployed overseas. From there, there are two things that might happen. One, I'll be back after almost five to seven years, or two, I'll get killed there," he explained.

Komachi's expression changed into one of disbelief and despair. "N… No. You're lying!" she said through clenched teeth, desperately hoping for this to just be another one of his crude jokes.

"I'm sorry, I'm not, and I apologize for not telling you this earlier."

Her lower lip quivered as more fresh tears fell from her eyes. "Onii-chan, I'm sorry, if it because of me, I'm so sorry, please don't leave." She was weeping now. He quickly pulled her into a soft comforting hug and held her. She showed no resistance and he dipped his head down and kissed her head.

"Don't worry. It's not because of you. I could never be angry at you Komachi. I just don't get a say in this. It's not my choice they're going to send me away. I'm one of the best snipers they have right now," he clarified and pulled away slightly to look at her face. "That's why I have to tell you. It's now or never." She stopped crying after a while as she finally understood his situation.

"T-Tell me what, Onii-chan?"

"I love you, Komachi," he spoke without hesitation.

"Huh? Of course, I love you too, Onii-chan," Komachi replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"No, Komachi. I don't mean the brotherly kind of love. I'm sorry, but I love you as a woman. I don't know since when, but I always have," he finally said, getting a huge weight off his shoulder. Immediately, Hachiman looked down and squeezed his eyes shut, bracing himself for the physical attacks, the insults, and the sadness and sorrow he'd have to feel… but if it ever came. Instead what he felt was a shifting of the couch cushions and a warm and wet sensation on his cheeks. He opened his eyes and looked to the side, only to come face to face with his sister. She had a sad smile on her face and was looking at him as a wife would look at her husband.

"Finally," she said and giggled. "I was wondering when you'd be honest with yourself." She placed another kiss on his cheek which made him blush. Komachi inched closer to him. She leaned over to him and whispered sultrily in his ear. "I love you too, Onii-chan."

Hachiman felt like he didn't have enough brain cells to process this. This… This was a dream come true. There was no way, right? He subtly pinched himself on the thigh, waiting to wake up, but instead, he felt the pain. His breath hitched and he gaped. Hachiman didn't know what he was feeling, but he knew one thing. He wanted more of it.

He slid his arms around Komachi's waist and pulled her onto himself. He was on the couch, and she was on his lap, her arms around his neck and their foreheads touching. Their lips, less than a centimetre apart.

"If you want me to stop, speak now, or forever hold your peace because I don't think I'll be able to hold back," Hachiman said with a look so intense, it could evaporate lava.

Komachi felt a spring tighten in her navel as her lower regions started to get wet. "O-Onii-chan," she said, and her breath tickled his lips, egging him on even further.

"Komachi," he said, holding himself back from capturing her lips then and there. He needed consent first.

"Should… we be doing this?" she asked cautiously. "I mean…" a tear rolled down her cheek, "what about the law?"

Hachiman simply replied, "Fuck it." As soon as she heard that, Komachi crossed the point of no return, as her lips crashed into Hachiman's. This was her first kiss and she was more than happy to let her brother have it. She was euphoric, and Hachiman reciprocated her feeling by pulling her closer with his left hand and letting his right slide down to her plump posterior. He squeezed it greedily, earning a small moan from her. He had never heard her make such a lewd sound, but the young man found great satisfaction in knowing that he would be the only one to ever hear it. This feeling of possession made him oddly aroused and his member started to rise, slowly rubbing more and more against her unexplored area.

Komachi licked his lips asking for permission to enter which he granted without a second thought. Who was he to refuse? Both their tongues wrapped around each other and explored every nook and cranny before the need to breathe took over. Their lips separated, and he got a full view of her face. "You're so beautiful," he said.

Komachi blushed hard before pouting and replying, "Onii-chan," she said cutely. "Surprise attacks like those aren't fair." Hachiman couldn't contain himself when he saw the endearing display and kissed her neck. He continued kissing, sucking, and lightly biting her neck as his right hand slithered into her panties. This unexpectedly bold move from Hachiman surprised Komachi immensely, which made her let out the sexiest, but at the same time, cutest sound ever. Something that was between a gasp and a moan. Hachiman had had enough. He stood up, carrying her with him in the process and climbed the stairs with a goal. The door to his room slammed open as he walked in. his foot twisted and kicked back, shutting it with another loud bang.

Next, he laid Komachi onto the bed and started to undo her uniform. "W-Wait, Onii-chan!" she yelled, scaring him and making him think she was backing out.

"I-I'm sorry," he apologized. Of course… They obviously couldn't do it. After all, they were siblings!

"I just… need to go to the washroom first," she stated shyly. _Ooooooookay? Guess I was wrong. We CAN do it, huh?_

Hachiman quickly undressed as he waited on his bed for the love of his life to come out of the washroom. The thought made him giddy. Komachi. His precious sister. All his. No one else could touch her and if someone even looked at her will ill intent, their body wouldn't be found the next day. And the best part? SHE LOVED HIM BACK!

After a while the door slowly opened, revealing an absolutely stunning Komachi. He had to admit, her growth over the span of just one year was mind-blowing. Her breasts while not as large as Yui's were still larger than Iroha's and her frame was lithe enough to compare it to Yukino's. He mentally berated himself for comparing her to other women. Screw them… they didn't have anything on her.

The shy young woman slowly walked over to her brother and it was her, this time that initiated the make-out session. Again, just like on the sofa, he sat on the bed, while she sat on his lap with her legs on either side of him, effectively straddling him. Except, this time they were both in their birthday suits. Their tongues continued the battle for dominance as their hands explored each other. Her hands ran over the muscular, toned body of his, while his hands slithered on her back, waist, and hips. He glided his hand over to her chest and slightly squeezed.

Since this was obviously her first time doing something like this, the pleasure was too much to contain. She pulled away from the kiss and arched her neck up and gasped. Hachiman looked at the beautiful arch her body formed and wasted no time in seizing this chance. His strong body expertly manoeuvred both of them and moved into a different position on the bed. Now, she was on the bottom, and he was on top of her. His lips touched her neck and she shivered in pleasure as he licked, kissed, and sucked. She knew it was going to leave a hickey – or five, but honestly, at the moment, it couldn't have mattered less to her if she tried. If her friends at school asked her, she'd have no problem saying that it was her lover (of course, she wouldn't say anything else).

Hachiman's lips and hands continued on their way down his gorgeous sister's body and stopped at her breast. He looked at her hard, pink nipple and lightly kissed it, teasing her. "O-Onii-chan!" she moaned out shakily as she pouted in the cutest way possible. Hachiman couldn't hold himself back. At first, it was just a lick. Then came the lips. Then, finally, came the full sucking action. He felt her beautiful bosom in his mouth. One of his hands caressing the other free breast while the other travelled down to her bottom lips that were already plenty wet from all the action. He used just one finger, slowly rubbing up and down against the crack. "Ahn!" a sweet, sweet sound escaped her lips as she wrapped her own arms around his head and pushed herself into him. He licked and sucked for a while. Then, he lifted his face and went even lower until he was face-to-face with her womanhood. The pink flesh stood out in stark contrast, just below the small tuft of hair. It looked so appealing. _Guess the carpet matches the drapes_ , he thought as he smirked.

Hachiman brought two of his fingers to it and started rubbing in a circular motion. Komachi started moaning and gasping. THIS! This was euphoria. Getting played with by the one you love. YES! YES! YES! YES! What could possibly be better? That question was quickly answered as Hachiman replaced his fingers with his tongue. Yep. This was much, much better and it wasn't even the best part! She reached out and grabbed the back of his head, raking her fingers through his hair and pushed it into her, while simultaneously folding her legs around his neck. _Guess she wants me to go all out_ , he mused as he showed off his tongue's flexibility. Up, down, left, right, in, out… in, out, in, out, in, out, in, out, in, out, until he felt a weird taste.

Hachiman widened his eyes as quickly realized what was happening and his tongue swiftly turned into anaconda 2.0. Komachi spasmed under the assault of his incredible appendage as the floodgates opened. She let out something between a scream and a moan. He was the only one that could send her into these sensory whirlpools of delirious intensity, there on the underside of her navel. Wave after wave of her fluids gushed out, entering his mouth, spraying all over his face, but he didn't let up.

The young woman tried to regain her bearings and ready herself for more as she closed her legs, but he didn't allow it. Hachiman pushed them apart, spreading her lips even more and dived back in, multiplying the directions and the movement speed of his tongue.

Komachi was done for… or so she thought as her body decided to open a few more floodgates. By the end, Komachi was covered in sweat and her brother in her fluids. She barely had the energy to say the next words, "Onii-chan. I want you. Inside me. Now."

Well… if she asked while making a face like that, who was he to deny her? Hachiman stood up and looked down at her. There was no backing down from this. Hachiman carefully aligned his member with his left hand and put his right hand on her hip. He slowly let her folds suck him deeper and deeper into her. Hachiman could say that this was truly bliss. "O-Onii-chan! Yes! MORE!" she barely moaned out as her mind just went blank.

"Komachi, you're so tight!" He exclaimed. She smiled a little when she heard her brother compliment her but then grimaced again as she felt a bit of pain.

"Slowly, please, Onii-chan. It's my first time," she pleaded.

"Don't worry. I'll be as gentle as possible," he whispered huskily in her ear. Hearing her brother's manly voice reassured her. He slowly slid in a bit harder as the resistance he was met with before, was gone.

"AHH!" She yelled as tears streamed down her cheeks. Hachiman bent over and embraced her while again kissing her. He loved the feeling of her soft lips on his. At this rate, he was sure this was going to turn into an addiction. They separated after a while, and she gave a small nod as her pain subsided. The pleasure she felt outweighed the pain a million-fold.

Hachiman started again, slowly pulling almost all the way out, and then sliding back in. He continued his motions like a piston in a cylinder as the feeling of this immense pleasure was multiplied because of her tightness and her cute moans. "Onii-chan! Faster!" Komachi pleaded. He smiled and increased the speed of his thrusts to which she moaned louder and louder. He again bent over and captured her lips in a passionate kiss. Her hands snaked to his back and pulled him close. He again increased the speed and intensity of his thrusts when their lips pulled apart. He let his mouth meet her neck again and sucked hard. "Onii-chan! I'm... I'M GONNA CUM!" Komachi screamed as she clawed his back. Hachiman's brain didn't register the pain at all as he too was near his climax.

"Me too Komachi!"

"Let it all out in me. Make me yours!" She said near his ear as Hachiman gave a hard, final thrust into her which made them both reach their breaking point. The springs that were coiled in their navels finally snapped and he emptied waves into her and her own body opened what remaining floodgates were left. Their fluids mixed in her womb as they both lay on the bed, heaving. Her on the bottom, him on top. He slowly pulled out as his out his member with a 'POP!'. "Onii-chan," Komachi started as she regained a bit of her strength. "Aishiteru (I love you)." Hachiman hugged her tightly, as his brain just registered what she said. Most married couples, even, were shy to say that.

"Aishiteru, Komachi," he replied as he fully reciprocated her feelings. He laid down next to each her and wrapped his arms around her while she laid her head on his chest. He reached over and pulled the blanket over both. "It's a good thing Mom and Dad are on a business trip, huh?" He said. Getting no reply, he looked down and saw her already soundly asleep on his chest. Hachiman planted a loving kiss on her head as he too retired for the night.

 **Flashback End.**

 **...**

"So?" Asked Komachi. "What about now?"

"Alright," said Hachiman nodding at her. "Komachi," he began, "will you bestow upon me the honour of being my date to my high school reunion?" Hachiman finished as he lifted his arms. Komachi showed a small smile as she walked towards him and placed a loving kiss on his lips.

"Of course. After all, I _am_ your lover."


	7. Chapter 7

**7**

* * *

 **Back in Business**

* * *

"Thank you Onii-chan, for coming shopping with me!" Komachi exclaimed. The brother and sister stood beside each other on the train, on their way to the mall. Hachiman merely grunted in response, thinking about how he could spend his time so much more... 'productively'. "Oh, come on! You also need some new clothes. You haven't worn anything but camo for years on end," she said while pouting cutely. Komachi smiled deviously as she added, "Today, we'll execute Operation Slinger!"

Hachiman's neck swivelled at record speeds to look at Komachi. "The hell? How'd you come up with that name? And how the hell do you even know about that operation?" _How the hell does she know about a CIA, PSIB, MI6 joint clandestine op?_ _he thought, scared for her safety._

Komachi deadpanned, "Onii-chan... I'm the head scientist on the operation. Of course, I'll know it. And as to why I picked the name: it's because what we're trying to develop is a lot similar to what I'll be making you go through today."

"And... what is that?" Hachiman asked warily. Komachi leaned over and whispered in his ear as his eyes went wide. "O... kay... how is that similar to what you're going to do to me?" He asked ready to run.

"Because, I'll be giving you a for transformation from the same old Onii-chan, to the new and improved, Onii-chan 2.0!" she said in an overly cheerful tone that sent shivers down his spine. Seriously, a trained warrior, who wouldn't even flinch when asked to defuse five bombs at once in under a minute, fearing his own sister, who was also his lover. Gosh, he felt pathetic.

Resigning to his fate, he said, "Hah... fine. Let's get this over with. Then we'll go back to the apartment and have some fun." He captured her lips in a chaste kiss as her arms snaked around his neck.

"Wouldn't have it any other way." She said as her head rested on his chest. None of them noticed the incredulous looks they were getting from the four or five people who had been close enough to hear their earlier conversation and hear her refer to the man she had kissed as 'Onii-chan'.

* * *

 **Two hours later**

"… Komachi." Hachiman called out hesitantly.

"Hai, Onii-chan?" replied Komachi innocently.

"Do I… Do I really have to try on all of these?" he asked gesturing to the pile of designer clothes in his hand that must cost a total of at least $15000. You could see every brand, from Tom Ford, Gucci, Prada, Armani, to Versace, Burberry, Rolex, Louis Vuitton and Ray-Ban.

"Hai!" she said with a million-watt smile. "All of them!"

"… But… don't you think you're going a bit overboard?" he asked again.

"Oh, come on. Stop being such a big baby and get to it. And I want you to try on every single outfit I've picked out."

"Hah… Fine." Hachiman gave up on convincing the little vixen as he stepped into the fitting room. He came out a few minutes later with light blue True Religion jeans, a white Armani t-shirt, a black bandanna with a white question mark, tied around his neck, and a dark brown Gucci belt. He also had a pendant with an engraved '13' on it.

Komachi looked at Hachiman, then nodded. "Approved!" she said cheerfully. Hachiman smiled and started to go back to the fitting room before he was stopped by Komachi. "Onii-chan, wait!" she said. "What's that?" she asked pointing to the pendant. Hachiman looked down and had a nostalgic look on his face.

"Ah… This. It's a memento that was given to my team. We once had to conduct a joint operation with," he leaned in and whispered, "Group 13." Komachi's eyes went wide. Hachiman simply smiled as he looked at her face.

"I… No way… I thought that was just a rumour…" she said, still wide-eyed. "What was the operation?" she asked, forgetting about the top-secret clearance that she didn't have.

Hachiman moved close to her and kissed her. "Sorry, sweetheart. Classified information." He turned around again and headed back to the fitting room, leaving behind an awestruck Komachi.

"Hah…" Hachiman sighed. "I've become addicted to your lips, Komachi," he said to no one in particular.

After trying out all the outfits, only twelve passed 'The Komachi Test'. They walked out the door and headed home, making small talk on the way. Hachiman still had his pendant on, and the bandanna around his neck.

"Onii-chan," Komachi called out. Hachiman looked at her as if to say, 'go-ahead'. "What about that bandanna. Is that also a memento from another joint mission?" she asked, curiously.

"Yep," Hachiman answered.

"Which one?" she asked.

"How high is your security clearance?" he questioned back.

She looked down, "Nine." She replied. Hachiman looked at her with his mouth agape.

"Ok, that is very good for your age, but I thought it was ten. Technically, I wasn't even allowed to tell you about 'Group 13'." He paused and sighed. "Well, shit. I'll tell you about the bandanna when you reach level fifteen."

Komachi looked downtrodden. "How high is your clearance, Onii-chan?" she asked, earning a chuckle from her brother.

"So high that I can't even tell you until you reach level Ten." He said without even looking at her.

"Onii-chan…" she started. "You're awesome!" she yelled as she jumped to give him a tight hug, and kiss on the cheek.

Hachiman and Komachi reached his apartment and dropped off all the bags. They were now in Hachiman's car on their way to their parents' house for dinner when Komachi spoke, "Onii-chan. Do we tell Mom and Dad about us?" Hachiman sighed again. He thought about it for a second before replying.

"Let's hold it off for now. I just got back. I don't want them shunning me just yet." He replied, earning a simple 'Hm' from his sister.

As they reached their parents' estate, Hachiman parked his car in the street and got out. They both walked beside each other and stopped in front of the door. They both looked at each other and Komachi gave Hachiman a quick chaste kiss and smiled as she rung the doorbell. A few seconds later the door opened to reveal their father. "Komachi! Hachiman!" he exclaimed, quickly giving each of them a hug. They stepped into the house and started talking. Their mother joined them shortly after and ushered them all to the dining table. The evening seemed to go by quickly as they lost themselves in their conversation. They all finished dinner and sat on the sofa. The parents sitting beside each other on the three-seater sofa, while Komachi and Hachiman sitting on the two-seater (love seat). Komachi subconsciously sat a bit too close to Hachiman, which would've gone unnoticed by him if he wasn't a professionally trained killer/assassin/spy/warrior/killing machine.

He knew that it also wouldn't take long for their parents to figure this out, considering how some years ago, she would've taken a seat as far from him as possible, and now she was practically clinging to him. This sharp contrast in behaviour would surely be way too easy for them to figure out. As he ran through the countless scenarios in his head on how to fix the situation without being too suspicious, his worst fears came true when his mom spoke up.

"Hmm… Komachi, don't you think you're sitting a bit too close to your brother?" his mom said. Hachiman sensed concern and a bit of something else in her voice… amusement, perhaps?

Komachi quickly realized what she had been doing and tried to desperately rectify the situation. "Uh… I… I mean… ah…" she stuttered as she slowly moved away from Hachiman. There lied her second mistake. Under normal circumstances, she would've just blamed it all on her brother and called him a pervert. But this was far from normal. They were brother and sister in a romantic relationship. That was as far from normal as could get. This also didn't go unnoticed by their father.

"Komachi…" he spoke slowly, "you know, you're not acting normal. Normally, you would've just blamed your brother for being a pervert. What changed?" he asked, sounding suspicious.

Komachi again went wide-eyed and looked at Hachiman for help. The situation seemed hopeless, and she needed him to rescue her. Hachiman's face just looked as impassive as ever, but she could read his eyes, and they seemed to say, 'Forget it. It's too late.' She looked down again in shame as she readied herself to confess her feelings for her brother. Tears started to well up in her eyes and she started to speak, before hearing a loud laugh. She looked up to see her father and mother both laughing and Hachiman just smiling warmly. She was absolutely baffled and bewildered. Her father spoke again.

"Hahaha, don't worry Komachi. We already know about your feelings towards Hachiman, and also about your relationship. We just wanted to prank you a little bit and have some fun. Your mother and I completely approve of whoever you choose to love." He smiled at her, as her mother then spoke up.

"And if it's your brother, then that's even better! I know I've taught him the correct manners and how to handle a lady, so I doubt he'll ever make you sad." She also smiled but not before letting out a small chuckle. Komachi finally looked at Hachiman as if to say, 'What the hell!?'

In return, he simply smiled and replied, "Hehe, I had already told them about us on the second day that I returned." He sheepishly rubbed the back of his head and smiled. "This… was just a small prank. You should know our parents are very open to love." Komachi was speechless.

She looked at all of them incredulously, as if they had grown two heads. The look quickly changed to anger, then finally acceptance; she merely smiled happily, before jumping straight into Hachiman's chest."Baka!" she said quietly so that only he could hear, "I love you." The older couple just looked at their children lovingly and smiled.

After their emotions settled down, they continued talking, and finally decided to spend the night there. After their parents decided to retire, Hachiman and Komachi decided to take a walk around the neighbourhood to refresh some old memories. They walked down the dimly lit street, hand-in-hand, basking in the comfortable silence. Komachi broke the silence, "Onii-chan," she pointed towards a place, "let's go there." Hachiman quickly realized where she was leading him and followed silently. In a few minutes, they arrived at a small playground. Komachi let go of Hachiman's hand and went to sit on the swing. She gestured for him to take the swing beside her. He acknowledged and sat down solemnly. "Why?" she questioned.

It was a simple word. Only three letters. 'W', 'H', and 'Y', but it held so much meaning. The length of the word just couldn't do it justice. It could be said by anyone, to anyone. It could be telling a terrorist to explain his plan, or asking Hitler his motive, or asking a cheating partner what you did wrong to deserve such a treatment, or a small innocent child asking what he did to be tortured in front of his parents. The word could be said in so many different tones, from suspicion to anger to curiosity to despair. The way Komachi said it, was completely impassive. No emotion behind it. 'Why?'

To anyone else, it would've seemed like a simple question, but Hachiman knew what she was asking. Especially taking the place they were sitting at into account. This was another place that he had tried to commit suicide. He was in his second year of high school when he had been ostracised by the whole school. He had truly been in despair and couldn't handle it anymore when he had walked over to this playground with a knife in his hand. He was about to shove it deep into his neck when Saki had stopped him and slapped him. She had pulled him into a tight reassuring hug and let him cry into her shoulder for half an hour before walking him back to his house. She had given him a quick kiss on the cheek and told him that he still had people who cared about him. They had been close to each other ever since that time and never hesitated to talk and help each other with their problems.

Five minutes passed before Hachiman finally spoke up. "Remember that time when I was in my second year and the whole cultural festival thing happened?" she nodded. "Remember how I looked especially sad and was having trouble talking to you and then you also got mad at me?" she nodded again. He got up from the swing and walked forward, stopping about ten meters ahead of her. His back still facing her, he spoke in a voice that seemed completely emotionless. "Well, I thought you hated me." He heard a small gasp come from behind but didn't turn. "I thought you didn't want anything to do with me and became extremely depressed. I loved you so much and when you were mad at me, I remember thinking to myself that death was better than being hated by you. So I thought; 'Heck, why not just end it all. It's not like anyone is ever going to miss me. I'm just an extra. A waste of space.' And when I thought about you looking at me like my middle school classmates used to, I… I just couldn't take it. Even now, when I thinking about possibly being hated by you-" he was interrupted when he felt a weight on his back and two slender but strong arms gripping him from behind. He heard sniffles and wanted to calm her down. "Komachi-"

"Shut up!" he was abruptly interrupted. "Don't you ever dare think like that ever again! No matter what, I'll always love you! Yes, you might be a baka sometimes, but you're **my** baka. Promise me you'll never even **think** about taking your life ever again! How would you feel if I killed myself?" she asked. She was surprised how quick he turned around.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him. He captured her into a vice-like grip. "No. I would never be able to live with myself." He replied, tears rolling down his cheeks.

"Exactly." She said, proving his point. "I love you, Hachiman. I really, really love you. More than you think, and I swear on my life, I will never ever leave you or hate you. So don't you dare leave me either." She smiled.

"I won't. I promise on my life to always stay by your side, protecting and loving you, no matter what happens." He also smiled and captured her lips in a deep kiss.

* * *

 **Two Days Later**

Komachi was at her workplace and Hachiman was walking towards the Tokyo Metropolitan Police HQ. He had recently gotten a call from the Colonel, ordering him to meet a certain contact for a side job if he wanted to make some extra money while he was free. Naturally, Hachiman accepted.

Hachiman walked into the building and went to talk to the receptionist. "Hi," he sais and the receptionist looked up at him. "My name is Hikigaya Hachiman. I have an appointment with 'Minami Hatsumi'. May I know where I can find her, please?" he finished with a smile.

"Of course! Just a second!" said the woman who was now sporting a light blush on her rosy cheeks. She picked up the receiver, dialled four numbers on a phone and said, "Good morning Minami-san. You have a 'Hikigaya Hachiman' here to see you… Yes… Right away, Minami-san." The woman hung up and spoke to Hachiman again, "Please take the elevator to the second floor, and you will find her in room 205."

Hachiman smiled and thanked her before walking away towards the elevator. He reached room 205 and knocked. Instantly, the door opened, a beautiful woman standing in the doorway. "Hello, Minami-san. I'm sure the Colonel notified you about…" Hachiman trailed off. She looked familiar for some reason. Long light blue hair tied in a ponytail. Beauty mark under the eyes. "Saki?!" he asked, surprised, clearly forgetting about his 'Emotion Suppression' training. Immediately she pulled him into her office and closed the door. Hachiman's head was whirling with questions. "Why-"

He was interrupted when Saki suddenly jumped onto him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Finally, after a long moment of comfortable silence, she spoke. "I missed you." Her words broke him out of his stupor and he also encircled his arms around her waist and hugged her back tightly.

"Yeah, me too…" he said honestly, "but… mind explaining what's going on?" he asked. She pulled back but didn't let go of him. She looked to be only two or three inches shorter than him. Saki leaned in again and kissed him on the cheek before breaking their embrace and walking away to sit behind her desk.

"Sure," she said chipperly, "but you're going to want to take a seat. It's going to be a long explanation." Hachiman nodded and sat down on the opposite side of the desk. "First off, what's your security clearance level?" she asked so that she could be sure of how much she could reveal.

Hachiman chuckled. "I need to know your level first to be sure that I can tell you."

"That high, huh?" she asked, impressed. "That means it's clearly over 20." Hachiman looked at her with a small smiled plastered on his face. This was an old tactic used by interrogators to get information out of suspects: give wrong info so that the suspects would correct them, and Hachiman was all too familiar with it having used it himself. "Hah…" she sighed, knowing she wasn't going to get any info out of him. "Mine is Twelve." She said finally.

He smiled apologetically this time. "Sorry Saki, too low."

"Yeah, I figured as much. But to talk more, we need to go to a more secure location." She stood up from her seat and opened the door to her office. "Follow me." She said. Hachiman got up and followed her to an elevator in the corner of the building, different from the one he used to come up. They stepped in and Saki pressed her thumb to a screen, making it flash blue. She then proceeded to press a button labelled 'B7', as the elevator lurched down and they started descending. Hachiman surmised they were going to the seventh basement of the building which was most likely reserved for the high ranking PSIB officials.

They stepped out of the elevator and made their way into another office. This one, unlike the former, had thick translucent glass which was bulletproof and had the same ability to become dark like the Colonel's office. Saki again walked towards the other side of her desk and sat down on the overly-priced office chair, as Hachiman sat on the opposite side of her desk. She finally started to speak. "I'm in the PSIB white-collar division. I'm working undercover as a special detective in the police, but my real mission is to find all the corrupt assholes that keep providing intel to the Yakuza." Hachiman nodded with a thoughtful look on his face. "The colonel told me I would be getting a sniper for some off-the-books assassinations that we had planned. Guess you're it, huh?"

"Yeah, I'm the sniper," Hachiman answered simply, prompting her to continue.

"Your mission will be a sort of background mission. To put it in simple terms, you'll have to assassinate the bastards that have enough power to get away scot-free even when they commit multiple crimes. Gang leaders, corrupt politicians, serial killers, murderers, you know, the usual. You'll get a target, and you will have to kill them. Then you come back and get another target. The operation commander will be me, and you answer only to me, or the Colonel. Any questions?" she finished explaining in an authoritative way. Hachiman felt like she really was truly deserving of the position.

He shook his head, "No ma'am."

"Good." She opened a drawer and pulled out a thin file. "Here is your first target. Asshole raped three girls and got away because his uncle is on the Board of Directors of a multinational corporation. He threatened the families to drop the lawsuit."

Hachiman nodded with a killer look in his eyes as he looked at the picture of his target. "Consider him dead."

"Well, that's all then. Now," she pulled out two cups from a cupboard and a kettle, "how about we catch up?"

Hachiman and Saki talked for roughly three hours, Hachiman explaining as much as he could without revealing any classified information, and Saki revealing almost everything since his clearance level was obviously much higher.

It turned out Saki was recruited into the PSIB in her first year of university when she was studying political sciences. They paid for all her education and offered her a full-time job as soon as she came out. What impressed him more was that her arrest rate was one of the highest in PSIB history – an impressive 92% – and as if that wasn't enough, she wasn't even 30 yet.

"So…" Hachiman hesitatingly asked, "any… boyfriend, fiancée, husband?" He realized he had hit a nerve when she looked down. A look of immense sadness crossed her face.

"I've… had some boyfriends, but they never lasted for more than a month. I actually have a date for tonight." She still looked sad.

"I'm sure you'll find someone you'll come to love."

"Tch," she clicked her tongue, "they're all the same. All they want is to get in my pants. I'll be damned before I let an asshole like that be my first." Hachiman's eyes widened.

"Wait you mean…" he stopped. Saki, just realizing what she said quickly clamped her hands on her mouth and looked up into his eyes. "Damn… I'm impressed."

"Huh?" she said intelligently.

"I mean… usually, people give in to their lust much earlier and don't really wait for their 'true love', you know," he said with admiration in his eyes.

"J-Just so y-you know," she said, avoiding Hachiman's eyes, "I haven't really kissed anyone other than you either. You know, after graduating." She looked back to see his surprised face changing into a kind smile.

"I'm… I'm honoured." He said still smiling, and he really was. Saki, in his opinion, was as close to the definition of a 'perfect wife' as a woman could get. Being the only person to have kissed such a person was an honour as high as having the President of the United States remember your name.

"How about you? Any girlfriends?" she asked warily.

"Yeah, but… uh… it's a bit of an… unconventional relationship." He said, thinking about how to reveal that his sister was his lover. "How about our other classmates? Have you kept in touch with anyone?" he asked, trying to change the subject which didn't go unnoticed by her, but she decided not to push it.

She shooked her head. "Only Hina. She's married to Zaimokuza and is the Head Editor in some big-ass news company. I don't really care about anyone else. Oh, but I think I saw Yumiko at the mall the other day. You know she's a world-famous actress, right?" He nodded.

"Probably in the country for the reunion. Speaking of which, are you going?" he asked.

"No, are you?" she asked back.

"Yeah, I am. Are you sure you don't want to be there? It might be fun." He said trying to goad her into spending some time outside the office. It'd be good for her.

"Well… if you're gonna be there, then sure. I'll be there." She smiled.

Seeing as how it was getting late, Hachiman stood up and said he had to leave. Saki escorted him to the parking lot and bade him goodbye, planting a kiss on his cheek.

She walked back to her office and sat down while holding her head in her arms. "All these years and I still can't get over you." She muttered before sighing. "Hah… I love you, Hachiman."

* * *

 **That Night**

Hachiman set up his rifle on the roof of a building a little way down the block where a small plaza was located. His target was said to frequent the place and today, like every other day, was no different. He waited patiently for two hours before he finally spotted the bastard. Hachiman aligned the crosshairs directly on the long-haired man that was trying to talk to an innocent office woman. He could clearly tell she was scared. Hachiman took a deep breath and let it out halfway and held it. He concentrated fully. The world disappeared around him. The sound of the wind became muted. The traffic sounds vanished. All that remained was the rifle, his finger, and the target. _Now_ , he thought and squeezed the trigger. Hachiman smiled as he saw the man's head explode, and his neck turned into a geyser of blood. The woman screamed and ran off, just like everyone who saw the spectacle did. Hachiman smiled and stood up as he started packing up his sniper.

He got into his helicopter and took off towards his apartment. Within five minutes of executing his target, Hachiman had packed up, cleaned up, planted fake evidence, and evacuated. Hikigaya Hachiman… was a force to be reckoned with.

* * *

 **Ten minutes ago in another location**

A raven-haired woman sat alone in a quiet peaceful coffee shop with a book in her hand. If anyone was to describe her, they would say that she radiated elegance. Her light blue eyes lifted off the book to the commotion that was happening outside across the street. What she saw made her livid. An innocent office woman on her way home was being harassed by a long-haired man – no, pig. How did she know he was harassing her? She read the other woman's body language. After all, politicians must be able to read others like a book. Yukino stood up from her seat to go save the woman when she saw something no normal civilian should see.

The man's head exploded in a shower of blood and flesh and he slumped down to his knees. Yukino stood there speechless at the sight of blood and gore. Most people would have only focused on that, but her observation skills weren't called 'scary' for no reason. Her eyes didn't fail to notice the small explosion of asphalt that happened a few feet away from the man. She had seen this type of explosion before when there was an assassination attempt made on her father. What she just witnessed was a successful assassination. She looked around at all the buildings, trying to see if she could catch a glint off of a scope or something. Her efforts were in vain and she finally gave up as she dialled '110'.

* * *

 **Hachiman's Apartment**

"I'm home!" he called out as he stepped in and shut the door behind him. He pressed a button and three locks secured the door.

He heard thumping inside his apartment as a cute Komachi appeared. "Welcome home, Onii-chan!" she yelled as she jumped on him and latched her arms around his neck. She leaned in trying to kiss him but he turned his head, making her lips make contact with his cheek instead of his lips. She tried again and failed as he looked to the other side, and again, and again. "Onii-chan!" she yelled again, cutely pouting. Hachiman had found a new way to tease Komachi. They both had become addicted to each other's lips. Every day, they'd have anywhere from five to six make-out sessions which would sometimes turn into full-blown sex if they were at home and had time.

"Hahaha, alright, alright." He said as he leaned down to kiss her and his lips met her cheek. He opened his eyes to see her looking to the side, still pouting. Hachiman tried again, but she turned her head to the other side. He smirked, she was trying to do the same thing he did, but Hachiman had a simple solution. He slid his hand down and unexpectedly grabbed Komachi's butt, making her gasp and surprising her for a split-second; but that split-second was all he needed to capture her lips in a passionate kiss. Their tongues danced in each other's mouths, as moans and gasps could be heard coming from both.

They finally separated fifteen minutes later, both of them sweating and breathing hard. Well, the breathing hard part was mostly only Komachi since Hachiman could've gone on for another thirty minutes. "What do you say we take it to the bedroom?" he whispered seductively.

"Hanh…" she moaned, "I can't wait." The Hikigaya couple ended another night enjoying each others' body.


	8. Chapter 8

**8**

* * *

 **One more?**

* * *

"Bye, Saki," Hachiman said with a smile, giving her a kiss on the forehead, as he walked out of the PSIB headquarters with another assassination assignment.

The man got in his car and shut the door. He opened the file and started flipping through its contents. "Rebecca Lee, AKA Revy…" he read off the file. "Chinese-American, born in NYC, and arrested, beaten and raped by a corrupt police officer… Joined 'Black Lagoon'… Murder, trafficking, drugs… This is one, bad bitch. Looks like it's gonna be a tough job," he said, voicing his thoughts. Hachiman put the file away and drove off, planning on how to assassinate his target. He smirked as an idea popped into his head. Hachiman quickly dialled a number through his car and spoke as the call connected. "Sasori," he said.

"[Eight]," a mechanical voice answered.

"You still work with poisons?" he asked, unsure if his contact was still in the business or not.

"[You still kill people?]" The now named Sasori asked back. They both knew that only meant one thing.

 **...**

That evening, Hachiman stepped into his condo, only to be hit by a delicious scent. He had forgotten to eat lunch because of how hectic it was to plan everything. He got some Botulinum from Sasori and some blowdarts from another one of his contacts. Coming home to Komachi's cooking was like a dream come true. Hachiman sneaked up behind Komachi and hugged her waist from behind making her yelp in surprise.

"Wah! Onii-chan!" she looked up, "Don't scare me like that," she pouted cutely. Hachiman turned her around in his arms and captured her lips with his own. Komachi too, melted into the kiss. Not getting to feel Hachiman's lips for the whole day had given Komachi some serious withdrawal symptoms. "Do you feel ready for the reunion tomorrow?" she asked warily, knowing how he felt about meeting his frie- ex-classmates.

"Komachi… I'm the sniper of a unit that can effectively throw off the balance of power in the world in 16 hours flat. The enemies don't even know about us, yet we have unofficial 'Flee-On-Sight' orders placed on us by 70% of the countries in the world. You really think I'm going to be scared of seeing a few old faces again?" he looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Plus, I have you there to rein me in, don't I?" he asked with a smile to which Komachi responded with a smile of her own.

"Guess I was worrying for nothing, huh?" she said, sound a little bit disappointed.

"But I'm still happy you're worrying about me," he said placing a kiss on her forehead.

"Baka… What kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn't worry?" she said bashfully. Hachiman thanked whatever god was up there for giving him such a perfect lover.

 **...**

Hachiman and Komachi spent the most of next afternoon getting ready and playfully bantering about who should be allowed to drink how much, though, in the end, it didn't matter anyway since Hachiman's car had a special version of the Tesla auto-pilot. One of the many perks of being a good friend of Elon Musk, the memelord.

By early evening they were ready to go. Hachiman and Komachi were both, arm-in-arm, and ready to go to the venue of the reunion. Komachi was wearing a shiny, dark purple dress which clung to her and accentuated her luscious figure perfectly. It also complimented her dark green hair and had a bareback which added to the already overflowing appeal. Our favourite sniper, on the other hand, was wearing a dark red – almost maroon – suit with a black shirt underneath. He wasn't wearing a tie, which left his top button open, showing a little bit of a scar that he had gotten during a mission in which only half his team had come back alive. Standing side-by-side like that, the Hikigaya couple could've easily been mistaken for celebrities.

The ride to the venue was mostly uneventful. Neither of them talked as some slow music was playing on the radio. Hachiman calmed himself and ran through scenarios in his head as he pulled the Roadster into the parking lot. Around them, they could see various other people from his year walking. Some, he had no idea who they were, and others, he recognized immediately. Sagami was one of them. Huh… Looks like she never changed her hairstyle, he thought as he took notice of the short hair. It looked like she was walking with some of her other friends while smiling and laughing.

All of a sudden, the full weight of what was happening just hit him. He was about to meet all his old friends and acquaintances, and he just realized… Hachiman was so totally NOT ready. As he thought more and more about it, the more it sunk in. All those embarrassing moments that he had in school. All those people that hated him. All those… fuckers that he committed multiple social suicides for and didn't get a single 'Thank You!' in return. What if they start treating him like they did before? What if Komachi saw that and started thinking he wasn't good enough for her? What if she rethinks her decision to be with him? Even though Hachiman was going through inner turmoil, his face didn't betray him. He kept his calm, cool façade. As he kept pondering on how to act, Hachiman suddenly felt something warm and wet on his cheek. He looked to the side to see Komachi smiling beautifully.

"Onii-chan." She spoke reassuringly. "No matter what. I'll always love you. And if the others don't see you for who you truly are, then that's their loss." She finished with a squeeze to his arm.

Hachiman stared in disbelief. _Yes_ , he thought as his worries just melted away like nothing. _No matter how tough I become, I'll always be like putty in her hands_. He smiled at her words as he leaned over and placed a chaste kiss on her forehead. "Thank you, Komachi. I love you. Like, a lot!" Truly, Hachiman was blessed to have a woman like Komachi in his life, be it as a lover, or a sister, or both. It didn't matter… As long as he had her in his life, he would be happy.

The couple exited the car and walked with their arms linked. As they walked through the parking lot towards the entrance, Hachiman and Komachi were both, garnering a lot of attention from both, females and males, respectively. A couple of people who recognized them instantly made faces which showed emotions ranging from surprise to confusion to admiration to suspicion to even jealousy. Surprise at how much the school's loner had changed. Not only had Hachiman's looks improved, but the way he walked gave off an aura of authoritativeness and strength. It was like watching a king walk with his queen. Confusion and admiration from some who recognized Komachi as Hachiman's sister and one of the only two Japanese women to have gotten a Nobel Prize. Suspicion from the few that realized the way they were holding hands and the lovey-dovey atmosphere around them since incestuous relationships were obviously frowned upon in Japan. And finally, jealousy from 90% of those who saw them for… obvious reasons.

As they walked, Hachiman heard a familiar voice call out to him from behind, "Hachiman!" Said man, looked back and saw a beautiful woman with light blue hair and a beauty mark under her eye. She was wearing a shiny, dark green dress which accentuated her figure very well and showed enough cleavage to make a normal man blush, though, Hachiman was far from normal. Saki walked up to them with a small smile on her face.

Hachiman began to say something before stopping and correcting himself, "Ah! Hatsumi-san." He had to be careful not to blow her cover. Hearing this, Saki's eyes showed confusion for a split second before she chuckled lightly. Hachiman couldn't help but think that her laugh was extremely beautiful. Komachi's laugh, to Hachiman, was cute and made you want to protect her, but Saki's, on the other hand, was very sexy. It had a mature, womanly charm to it.

"It's alright, Hachiman. You don't need to say that. I'm not undercover right now, and even if someone finds out, we have multiple contingency plans in place." She finished with a mirthful smile.

"Ah, ok. Thanks," he said. He felt a slight squeeze coming from his arm, snapping his attention to his lover.

"So, Hachiman. Is she your…" she trailed off, not knowing what to say and deciding to not say anything as to not make the situation awkward, in case there was a misunderstanding.

"Yeah…" Hachiman began while thinking about how to best explain it. "Saki, I'm sure you've met her before. In the second year of Sobu if you remember, and she was in First year when we were in Third year. This is my sister, Hikigaya Komachi." As Hachiman finished, Komachi and he, both mentally readied themselves for the look of disgust that Saki would surely throw them once it set in… But it didn't come. Saki merely widened her eyes in surprise for a long moment, before finally showing an understanding smile.

"And your lover also, I presume?" she asked, to which he simply nodded meekly in mock embarrassment. Truth was, he wasn't embarrassed at all to have Komachi as his lover. Why would he be?

Saki chuckled again, seeing as how the Hikigaya couple waited anxiously for her reaction. She finally spoke, "Don't worry, I understand. Truth is, my brother and I also tried doing the same thing you two are doing right now."

"Huh!?" said the Nobel Prize winner and professional killer intelligently as both their brains tried to process the new information.

Seeing how baffled they both were, Saki burst out in full-blown laughter as she couldn't help but think about how ironic it was that one of the most respected women in the world and THE most feared man in Japan (only among the high-ranking officials, as no civilian knew who the hell Hachiman was) were rendered speechless by a lowly cop. This also showed how Saki was way too modest and didn't give herself nearly enough credit, for little did she know, she was the investigator that all newbies in the entirety of PSIB truly respected and looked up to. As her laughter died down, she decided to fill them in while walking towards the entrance. After finishing the small talk with Komachi, Saki began.

"As you already know Hachiman, I was also a loner during our time at Sobu," Saki started to which Hachiman nodded, "you were the only real friend I had, and after you left at the end of the school year, my loner ways didn't change when I was in university. Because of that, I went into depression and was on the verge of turning into a NEET. Even when I was in… uh… the academy…" sensing Saki's discomfort at revealing the information, Hachiman quickly interrupted as he realized that she didn't know Komachi's clearance level.

"It's alright, Saki. Komachi's level is Nine." Saki eyes widened once more but she quickly remembered that Komachi's age and looks easily made people forget about her accomplishments.

Regaining her bearings, she started once more. "Well, when I was in the PSIB training stage, most women would be jealous of me because of my record and most guys would only get close to me to get into my pants." Hachiman smiled at how modest Saki was being, not realizing that it wasn't her record that the girls were jealous of, but actually her looks. Hachiman kept quiet nonetheless and let her continue. "At the same time, my brother was also really depressed since his girlfriend had cheated on him. So, one day out of nowhere, we both thought 'What's the harm?' and decided to try dating. Though, in the end, I couldn't look at him any other way than as the little baby brother that I had loved. So yeah, trust me when I say you both are really lucky to have such a relationship built on so many years upon years of trust. And that too, so early on in life." She smiled, trying to look cheerful, but as expected, nothing gets away from Hachiman.

He saw the hurt and the longing in her eyes and couldn't help but want to hug her and comfort her while telling her it'll be okay. He tried to speak but was surprised when he saw Komachi flash by and envelope Saki into a hug and whisper something in her ear. As Hachiman wondered what they were talking about, he saw a smile on both the women's faces and small thanking bow from Saki. The two women walked in front and Hachiman trailed behind them. He knew better than to eavesdrop on 'girl-talk'.

They quickly reached the entrance of the venue and waited as the receptionist found their names and allowed them in.


	9. Chapter 9

**9**

* * *

 **The Reunion**

* * *

"Hikigaya Hachiman, Kawasaki Saki, and my plus one," said Hachiman to the lady manning the reception. She looked down at her tablet and scrolled through the list until her eyes fell upon the golden 'VIP' crown beside his name.

"Ah, yes. You all may head up to the VIP seating area. Hayama-san has made special arrangements for all of his close friends," she said and Hachiman mentally scoffed. Close friends, huh? He merely nodded and followed Komachi and Saki as they walked through a door with intricate designs on it.

The moment Hachiman stepped into the new area, his brain already started processing new information as the uncharted territory and his eyes started scanning for any and all vulnerabilities. Exits over there, there and there. _That man is walking with a cane; could be hollow for weapons. That woman has an unnatural bulge on her butt… or is it just that big? That guy barely swings his right arm as he walks; KGB Alpha Team training? Or maybe Israeli MOSSAD?_ Millions of thoughts passed through Hachiman's brain within a matter of a couple of seconds.

Komachi saw this out of the corner of her eyes and harshly whispered to her brother, "Onii-chan! This is not a warzone! Calm down and smile a little!" she said as she and Saki fixed a stern gaze on him.

Hachiman let out a small chuckle, "Ah well, you know what they say. Old habits."

As soon as Hachiman said that, they heard a soft but manly voice come from behind him, "Hachiman?"

Hachiman turned around, only to be met with the sight of a head of silver hair. His eyes trailed down and he saw the same coloured eyebrows, big eyes, a small nose, and a small mouth in the shape of a genuine smile.

Saika!

Hachiman also let his mouth form into a smile as he saw one of the only persons that he'd call an 'old friend'. "Saika," he spoke, "long time no see." Saika no longer had the feminine build or stature he once held. Instead, he had one of a dignified man, with a sharp jaw, and a not too broad, but also not too narrow frame. He stood only a few inches shorter than Hachiman, but did not, in any way seem inferior. "How have you been?"

"Not too bad, how about you?" answered Saika and directed his own question at him.

"Haha, could be better. Saika, meet Saki, and Komachi. I'm sure you remember them," Hachiman said, quickly introducing his lover and his… co-worker? Boss? Ah, whatever. Hachiman let his eyes roam once more as the other three exchanged pleasantries. He noticed that most of the people that were there were famous or were big names in many different industries. His eyes snapped to the familiar pair of blonde heads. Target in sight, he thought as he observed every little move that his 'Boss-to-be' made. As he finished observing, Hachiman came to the conclusion that Hayama had trained in one or two hand-to-hand combat styles (Aikido and Judo probably), based on the way he moved, and maybe some Kendo. He was also carrying a small firearm under his armpit, Hachiman concluded from the unnatural way Hayato's arm moved.

His eyes slid over to Yumiko. You sure have grown, Yumi, Hachiman thought with a small smile as he remembered the day when he and Miura had gone from two people who vaguely knew that the other existed, to the closest friends that a man and a woman could be.

* * *

 **Flashback**

Hachiman was walking home from the convenience store with a bag of chocolate ice-cream. There were a number of reasons for this.

His sister had requested (read: ordered) him to fetch something tasty for her since she was on her period, and Hachiman being… well, Hachiman had happily complied. He still couldn't hold back a smile every time he remembered how they both confessed to each other and… *ahem* become one with each other. As his mind went back to that heavenly night and a small blush spread across his face. Despite all the emotional conditioning his training had entailed, the thought of his sister never failed to put him in a state of giddiness. Another reason was that he had a lot of money to spend from that mission he did last week where he got airlifted from the school. Enough to possibly buy his own apartment if he wanted; therefore, some ice-cream was of no consequence at all. The final reason was that he loved the look of happiness on his sister's face. Her being happy meant him being happy.

Hachiman turned a corner and looked ahead, scanning for threats. After all, more practice meant better performance on the field. Instantly Hachiman's eyes locked onto a head of blond hair and olive-green eyes.

Miura?

Hachiman's eyes narrowed a bit but quickly went back to normal. He debated with himself whether he should ignore her and just walk past or say hi. Hell, maybe I should just turn around and take a long way, he thought. Hachiman stopped and started walking back, silently apologizing to Komachi for being a bit late.

"You damn coward!" Hachiman heard a shout. He had a pretty good idea of who it was, but he turned around to check anyways. Hachiman looked over and found the same pair of green eyes glaring daggers at him. He raised an eyebrow.

"Y'know… avoiding arguments doesn't make you a coward. I saw you, and I was eighty-five percent sure that you'd want to scream at me and shit for some random-ass reason, and I'd rather just get home quietly, so I turned around. It doesn't make me a coward; it makes me smart," Hachiman replied, utterly destroying the woman with nothing but words.

Yumiko stood there, fists clenched and lips quivering. She was angry but at the same time, she also knew that everything he said was correct. Yumiko also wanted to avoid an argument, so she decided to change the subject, "Fine. I'll get to the point. Why did you say all that stuff?"

"Huh? Uh… because you called me a coward… I guess? Wait, what the fuck? Are you really that stupid?" Hachiman looked at her incredulously.

"Not that!" she shouted, "The stuff you said in the clubroom about Hayato. Why did you say all that?"

Hachiman thought back to his conversation with everyone else.

He deadpanned. "Really? That was one week ago. NOW you come to me?" Hachiman let out a resigned sigh, "Well I said all that stuff because…" he paused for dramatic effect, "it's true."

Yumiko's eyes widened and then narrowed. "No, it isn't!" she screamed at him. "He would never do that! Hayato isn't like that. He's… he's- "

Hachiman interrupted and started speaking with the most sarcastic tone he could possibly muster up, "He's the best man in the world. Oh, my prince charming. My knight in shining armour. My one true love. He'd never use me. HAH!" Hachiman barked out a laugh, "It's time to get real Miura. He doesn't love you. Never did, never will." Here Yumiko opened her mouth to deny his claims but was quickly cut off by Hachiman raising a hand (something he learned from his superior). Hachiman wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible. "Before you say anything else, answer these questions for me, and make sure you answer them truthfully. The only person you'd be lying to is yourself. Now, do you believe Hayama is smart?"

"Yes, of course, he is!"

"Smart enough to understand matters about love?"

"YES," Yumiko said through clenched teeth, seeing slightly where this was going.

"Then please explain why he has never asked you out on a date."

"Because… Because he's busy!"

"Oh, is that so? Then why does he always have time to hang out with the three other monkeys in your group?" Yumiko looked down. She couldn't find an answer. She knew he was right. No matter how hard she denied it, she always knew deep down that her crush always hid all his true feelings under that false placating smile. "Tell me, Miura," Hachiman continued, "Why is it that every time you invite him out to a date, he always invites someone else. Even I'm not that stupid to not recognize such huge hints."

"Stop it… It's not… He's just…" She said trailed off quietly, still looking down. Even though Hachiman couldn't see her face completely, he could still see the little glimmer on the corner of her eyes. He contemplated whether he should leave her be in her own fantasy or pull her into reality. The sweet lie, or the bitter truth? Hachiman thought. In the end, he figured he'd just be doing her a favour by making her acknowledge the ugly reality of life.

"He is a two-faced son of a bitch, Miura."

"I said stop!" she shouted.

"Have you seen what he does in his free time? Remember that time you found us hanging out with two other hoes in that mall? What if he does that? What if he has a secret life?"

"He's not like that!" she screamed with tears streaming down her eyes. _Fuuuuucckkkk. This ain't going anywhere. How is she so blind?_ Hachiman knew this could continue forever. Him providing arguments and her mindlessly denying them. He needed to free her from this fangirl curse.

"…Do you love him?"

"Of course!"

"What's his favourite colour?" Yumiko's face dropped as realization dawned on her. "Favourite food?... Have you ever seen him angry?" She had frozen stiff. Hachiman snickered, though it was killing him on the inside to see her like this. Yumiko might be a bit of a bitch, but she was a woman who genuinely cared for her loved ones and that was something he truly admired. Hachiman went in for the killing blow. "Do you even really know him?"

Yumiko felt like someone had stabbed her, straight through the heart. Though, she guessed that was more or less normal when one was told that their first love was nothing but a huge lie. Strength left her legs and her knees buckled. She staggered for a bit before dropping to her knees, sobbing with one hand covering her mouth.

"I'm sorry, Miura. You might not see it now, but I'm doing you a favour. Hayama doesn't love you," a small sob made it's way to Hachiman, "He loves someone else."

"NO! Please! Please don't!" she cried out, not wanting her world to be shattered. She already knew. She just didn't want to believe it. She always saw how he looked at that woman. Instead of confronting him about it, she instead turned a blind eye and kept pinning after him.

"Miura." He said in a strong voice. One that no one had really heard from him. She looked up at him in surprise and saw Hachiman on his knees, in front of her. He brought a hand up to cup her cheek. Hachiman knew that he was going to break her that night… but it was for the best. And if need be, he would take responsibility and pick up the pieces. He would break her and build her back up into a woman that would stand on top of the world. As a queen. "Hayama loved, loves, and will love only one person. Haruno Yukinoshita." He said with finality. They say that the eyes are the window to one's soul. What they fail to mention is how dangerous it is to gaze into the eyes of someone who thinks they have no purpose in life. Hachiman stared into the abyss… and the abyss stared right back into him. Through her eyes, he could see her world, shattering. "He used you, and he played you, Miura."

And then she broke, weeping heavily, into Hachiman's arms. She needed comfort and she'd take anything she could get. He knew she was desperate, and he would lay down his life before letting someone take advantage of her distraught state (even though he knew what he was doing was hypocritical). It was only ten minutes, but it felt like hours until she finally calmed down. Yumiko looked up from her position on his chest and Hachiman smiled sadly as he saw her eyes.

"You know, the same thing happened to me." He said as he stared into her eyes as if telling her to hold herself together. "It turned me into the biggest loner ever… and I don't want to see the same thing happen to you. You are smart, beautiful, and have so much potential, it would be a shame to see you turn out like me." Yumiko felt a weird feeling in her chest. She had never had someone compliment her so openly, and it felt… pleasant.

Yumiko looked up at him pleadingly. "How am I supposed to get better when I just found out I've been used as a hoe deterrent my whole high school life."

Hachiman chuckled at that and brought his mouth close to her ear and whispered, "A sweet little thing called… REVENGE!" He pulled back to see her in a thoughtful state. Hachiman could practically see the gears turning in her head. He continued, "The art of seduction is a very hard thing to master. Something that Haruno uses on everyone, and from that, Hayama also learned to use it. Starting tomorrow, I want you to come to the vending machine. Fifteen minutes every day is all I'll need. I'll be teaching you the way to one's heart, and how to completely and utterly obliterate them."

Yumiko looked down and hugged Hachiman tighter, blushing profusely at the thought that someone would actually go to such lengths for her. "Thank you, Hikio!"

"Anytime, Yumi-chan" Her eyes went wide at that as she turned her face away. "What? You don't like it?"

"T-That's not it. It's just… no one has ever called me that. I… I like it," she said bashfully. Hachiman's eyebrows rose in surprise and he started laughing. After a while, Yumiko also joined in.

As the two finally got into better moods he finally said, "C'mon. Let's get you home."

Again, Yumiko felt her heart swell that he would actually care so much for her even after being so mean to him all through his high school years. The two walked home in comfortable silence, neither noticing that their hands were entwined.

Needless to say, Hachiman got home very late that night and had to make it up to Komachi with an extra, extra, extra long make-out session.

 **End Flashback**

* * *

Hachiman sighed happily at that memory and wondered if she would still be the same with him or would things have changed with time. As he thought that he heard his name being called.

"Hachiman," he turned around again to see his best friend walking towards him, arm-in-arm with another woman.

"Hachiman-kun, nice to see you again!" came a smooth voice from a beautiful woman. She had dark olive brown hair and glasses with a red frame. Her golden-brown eyes were complemented by the small smile gracing her face.

"Hina-san. It's my pleasure," Hachiman said as he smiled a little. "I assume Yoshi's treating you well?" he asked jokingly.

Hina chuckled as she lovingly gazed at her husband. "Yep, and It's all thanks to you for setting us up. God knows when this knucklehead would have made a move," she said to which Yoshiteru grumbled something about his wife being 'troublesome'. At that moment, for some weird reason, Hachiman felt that a ponytail in a pineapple style would suit him very well.

As the conversation once again dissolved into a back-and-forth exchange to what everyone had been up to and how life's treating them, Hachiman found himself once again observing a person. He looks familiar, but where have I seen him, Hachiman racked his brain trying to remember where he had seen that familiar head of pure black hair and sharp brown eyes. Funnily enough, Hachiman only recognized him from the nose and up. The strange man disappeared around the corner and Hachiman's eyes went back to scouting the public as he paid part of his attention to the ongoing conversation.

It looked like Saika was a very famous tennis player that played for the Japan team in the summer Olympics. With over 15 gold medals to his name, he was definitely Japan's best. Yoshiteru was the owner of a rapidly growing publishing company. His profits increased as each year went by. Hina, on the other hand, had become the head editor and news anchor of the biggest news channel in Japan. So far, it seemed like this was the 'Golden Generation'.

Suddenly, Hachiman heard his phone ring. This wouldn't exactly be an unnatural occurrence had the caller id not read 'Unknown'. There were very few individuals that had Hachiman's phone number. So few that he could count them all on both his hands. Out of everyone he knew that had his phone number, none could possibly have their caller id hidden. Warily, he slid the phone symbol to green and held his to his ear.

"[You saw me and yet you didn't recognize me.]" said an altered voice from the other side. Hachiman's eyes shot to the corner the unknown man had disappeared around. "[Okay, even I'm not that dumb as to stay at that corner.]" The voice joked and added, "[Tsk, tsk, tsk… your skills are diminishing… Eight]"

"Who the fuck is this?" Hachiman said in a commanding but quiet voice. Only Komachi and Saki heard it, but both had the presence of mind to not look at Hachiman. After all, it wouldn't do anyone any good to draw too much attention. "You either have reaches into some deep places that can get you the most secure information in the world, or you're a government operative with a security clearance on par of that of the Prime Minister and there are very few people with that level of trust. All of whom I know personally and none of them have as sick a sense of humour as you."

"[Hmm. Your deduction skills are still just as great. Well, my identity doesn't matter for now. We'll meet soon enough. Oh, and about the security clearance part… well… it does help to have the Japanese prime minister as your girlfriend.]" the voice said in a nonchalant manner. "[My reason for being here is to assist you in your mission.]" Here, the voice became extremely serious. "[Apparently, the higher-ups decided that Hayama Hayato was a big enough threat to global security to enlist us. Come to the corner where you lost sight of me in twenty minutes.]" and the line cut off.

Hachiman's brain was going a mile a minute. WHAT THE FUCK!? There was no way in hell any terrorist organization would be able to bypass such high security but at the same time, this was a very, very unconventional method of communication. And the part about the Japanese prime minister being his girlfriend? Wait… who is the current prime minister again?

Also, the way that the voice turned from a joking tone to a commanding tone felt awfully familiar to him. Hachiman saw an opportunity to interject into the conversation going on and took it.

"Uh, guys… You know how I've been overseas for a long time right?" Everyone nodded at him. "Haha, this is a bit embarrassing to ask but… who is Japan's current prime minister?"

Everyone's jaw fell.

"Seriously, Hachiman?" asked Yoshiteru with a 'Really, nigga?' look.

"You know… you're so similar to Sherlock Holmes," said Saki with a small laugh. Hachiman raised an eyebrow at that.

"How so?" asked Saika curiously.

"Well… you've all read, or at least watched his series, right?" she asked and got a nod from everyone in return. "Hachiman is just like him in the sense that he knows the most bizarre and seemingly unimportant facts but doesn't know the simple stuff. Sherlock is a genius, but he doesn't know that the Earth goes around the Sun. Hachiman is just like that," she finished with a laugh finding it hilarious. Everyone else also chuckled, realizing how true that was.

"Okay, okay. But c'mon, I really want to know. Who is the current prime minister of Japan?!" he said needing to find out badly before he had to meet this mysterious guy.

"That would be me!" came a womanly voice from behind him. Hachiman turned around to see one of the few faces he would be truly scared of even now.

"Haruno Yukinoshita," Hachiman said with a completely disarming smile on his face. Though his mind was a totally different matter. Holy fucking shit! She's the prime minister? Well, the position is oddly fitting for her. Wait, where the hell is her security detail… or are they undercover? And her boyfriend? What the hell would he want from me? And why would she tell him state secrets? Doesn't she know what would happen if she was found out? Or maybe he really does have a high secur- his thoughts were cut off as his mind converged on one name. The face, the playful manner of jokes, the… dumbassery; it all came down to one fucking idiot. _Ghost. FUCKING GHOST! On my life, when I get my hands around his neck… ARGH!_

"What a pleasant surprise, Hachiman," said Haruno sounding like she was actually happy to see him.

"Really, Haruno?" Hachiman asked, dropping all formalities. "Two hundred twenty-eight thousand one hundred thirty-two words in the English vocabulary and 'pleasant' is the one you choose?"

"Oh, shut it. Be grateful you got even that much," she said feigning annoyance. Haruno and Hachiman glared at each other for a moment before smiling slightly. The rest of the people around them just silently watched as the most powerful woman in Japan bantered jokingly with someone who was seemingly a 'nobody'.

"Man," said Hachiman as he calmed down. "Can't believe you actually made it to the top of the Japanese legal food chain, huh?"

"Did you doubt me?" she asked challengingly.

"Not for a second," he replied with a smile. "Anyway, why are you here? I thought this was only for the graduating class?" he asked the question that was nagging him for a while.

"Yukino's plus one!"

Hachiman blinked. "So, she's here, huh? Well, that aside, I definitely thought she would bring her boyfriend or someone, if not her husband," he said while rubbing his chin.

Haruno snorted in an un-womanly manner. "Oh, puh-lease. She still only loves one person and I doubt her first love is ever going to end," Haruno reached over and pinched Hachiman's ear.

"Ow, Haruno!" he whined, and she let go. Remembering what she said about Yukino, he turned serious. "I see," he said solemnly. Hachiman quickly checked his watch and saw that it was almost time for him to meet his team commander. "Well if you'll excuse me now. As much as I'd love to stay and chat with you, I have to go meet your boyfriend," he said but just as he was about the walk away, Haruno's hand stopped him.

"What the hell?" she looked at him incredulously. "Hachiman, I don't have a boyfriend." Hachiman rose an eyebrow. Now that he thought about it, that was another habit he picked up from Ghost. Raise an eyebrow and it will shake your opponents' confidence.

"Uh…" Hachiman tried to think of how to convey what he wanted to say without leaking government secrets here. "Don't let him hear you say that, or he might come to _**haunt**_ you!" Hachiman said that sentence in a monotone, other than the emphasis on the word 'haunt'.

Haruno's face scrunched up in a way to say, 'the fuck?' but she immediately widened her eyes as realization dawned on her. "No…"

"Yes," he replied with a smile.

"Hachiman, I swear to god, if this is a joke, I WILL rip out your eyes," she hissed with a fierce look in her eyes.

This. THIS was the reason she was one of the few people on the planet Hachiman actually feared. "D- Dayum… but no. Don't worry. It's not a joke." _I sure as fucking hell hope it isn't or I'm gonna rip that guy's eyes out myself_.

Haruno smiled. Not a nice one, but one that said, 'cross me and even your ghost won't know where you were buried'. "Lead the way."

"No, Haruno," fuck I shouldn't be denying her, "I don't think I'm allowed to let you meet him," goddamn procedures, "I believe it's against protocol."

"Your protocol can go suck a dick," she replied without hesitation, "now lead the way or I'll shove my foot so far up your ass, your dentist will be picking my toenails out of your teeth," she replied, smiling beautifully the whole time.

Hachiman was damn near close to pissing his pants. The only reason he didn't turn tail and run was the thought of getting to watch Ghost being castrated for being away from her for so long.

He let out a resigned sigh. Protocol can go suck a dick, "Sure, let's go."

Hachiman and Haruno silently walked beside each other as the trained killer lead her towards the location where he last saw his commander. They turned the corner and found a man waiting for them. Even though Hachiman had seen him just a few minutes ago, he couldn't help but feel disappointed at how… normal… Ghost looked. No doubt about it, he was damn good looking, but it was like if he wanted, Ghost could just blend into the crowd. A skill incredibly useful for infiltration missions.

"Sup, Eight?" Ghost asked nonchalantly with a smile. Hachiman waved back.

"Nothing much. How about you, Ghost?"

Said man smiled. "Guess you figured it out. Looks like I gave out a bit too much info." Ghost chuckled, though his expression became a serious one. "Who's that behind you?" He was ready to kill. 'No witnesses', was the TF-88 policy, be it on the battlefield, or the civilian world.

Haruno stepped out from behind Hachiman's back and looked at Ghost with a sickeningly sweet smile. "Forgot about me already, sweetheart?"

If someone had been looking through X-ray goggles at the moment, they would have seen Ghost's stomach literally drop.

Hachiman went back around the corner to stay away from the lovers' quarrel he so shamelessly initiated.

Ten minutes later, Ghost and Haruno both walked out of the hallway they were in. Hachiman noticed how they were holding hands. To the trained eye, it was clear their clothes had been messed up and straightened out again. To a normal person though, it would look as if nothing was wrong at all… except for the huge ass bruise and a black eye on Ghost's face. Hachiman chuckled.

"Looks like she got you good, eh?" Hachiman said to his commander.

"Oh, shut it you ass," Ghost grumbled. "Let's just get down to business. I'll get straight to the point. New intel came in. Hayama has planned a week-long cruise for this event. He plans for the 'reunion' to be a week-long party, with all expenses paid."

"I'm assuming that's just a cover story?" Hachiman asked.

"Dead on. There's going to be a deal taking place in during the celebration. We don't know exactly what it is, but CIA has a suspicion it's going to be big. Most likely…" Ghost paused, "Uranium."

"And he's going to be doing it amongst civilians. He's been a thorn in my side for so long. I can't wait to get rid of him," Haruno said bitterly.

"Don't tell me he's been strong-arming you to make deals too," Ghost said with a dangerous tone.

"Well, he's been trying to but since Japan has got reaches all over the world, he can't," she said, squeezing Ghost's hand to calm him down.

"Hah…" Hachiman sighed. "We can't even straight up assassinate him. He's probably got tens of others to continue his work. It's like he just wants to watch the world burn."

Ghost laughed at that comment. "Reminds me of Moriarty."

Hachiman thought about that comment and found it funny how he had been described as Sherlock just a few minutes ago. "Oh well… let's go back and wait for the announcement to happen."

"Nope," Haruno said, getting a questioning look from Hachiman. "I've still got nine years to make up with my boyfriend," she said with a sly smile.

Ghost chuckled. "How about we save that for the nighttime, Haruno? We've still got a mission to finish y'know? Oh! Before I forget, my identity for this mission will be Katsura Tashiro. Don't worry about the background since officially I've been overseas ever since 'graduating from Sobu'." Hachiman and Haruno both nodded and immediately memorized all the new information. Ghost continued, "Haruno I'd like you to refrain making contact with either of us until we get on the cruise ship. We have information that Hayama has people on the inside. I doubt they'd ever be able to figure us out, but… I'd rather not take chances."

Haruno nodded, "Got it!" she gave a quick kiss to Ghost and a wave to Hachiman before walking away as if nothing ever happened.

Hachiman turned to his commander. "My orders?"

"As they were."

"Hmm. So... any new missions while I was away?"

"Tons."

"… my bad. I didn't phrase that correctly. Any interesting missions while I was away?" Hachiman reworded his question.

"Let's see." Ghost rubbed his chin as he adopted a thinking pose. "Oh!" he exclaimed as he remembered one. "Well, we were supposed to be bodyguards for a water delivery from a water pump station to Baqubah." Ghost rolled his eyes as he saw Hachiman's incredulous expression.

"Hold up, I'm sorry, but since when was THE Task Force Black a fucking delivery service?" Hachiman asked, obviously insulted with the mission they were given.

"Chill, you dumbass. We had intel that the enemy was setting up an ambush of almost a hundred and seventy men. Compare that to a twelve men delivery unit. Obviously, they would need us to protect them," Ghost said, playfully scolding Hachiman.

"Oh… Oh true… my bad."

"So, what happened was that on the way to Baqubah, there were a shit-ton of hajis on the side cheering and shit – obviously for the water – so I turn around to the face the team and be like, 'bruh stay awake, shits boutta hit the fan, eh' and they like, 'yeah gotchu boss' and so we keep driving and leave the hajis behind, right? And we be passin this cliff rii-,"

"English, please?" Hachiman interrupted him as Ghost slipped into street language.

Ghost took a deep breath and clenched his teeth. It was just so much easier and more efficient to talk like that. "... We were driving on the road past a fairly tall cliff and we start hearing shots. Now, we were ready, but the delivery team were a bunch of FNGs. Two of 'em bought it right away, while the others were panicking. Our team was ready though. We got our asses out and started shooting back. The assholes were on top of the cliff, so they had the upper hand – no pun intended. So anyway, it was an absolute clusterfuck. By the end, half of the delivery team was KIA and Shorty got a round in her leg."

"Shorty?" Hachiman interrupted again.

"Oh, right! Our new 2IC. She's real short but, fuck man, she can fight! Almost as good as me in hand-to-hand combat." Hachiman was impressed. One had to go through brutal training to be as good as any of the TF-88 operatives in hand-to-hand, but Hachiman and Ghost were on a different fucking level. "So yeah, the water tank got a few holes in them and the water started spilling out, so we had to go back to fix it. Now here's where the fun begins! Y'know the hajis that were cheering for us? Well, the fuckers decided they didn't like us going back so they started throwing stones and shit. One of the rocks hit a corporal on his head – dumbass had horrible reflexes, by the way, he totally deserved it – and I was like, 'shits starting to get outta hand' and then one asshole decides he wanted to send his kid close to hit us with rocks. Now they know we don't hurt kids, but remember, even if it's a kid, if the lil shit is armed, we can ignore rules of engagement. So, what I did is I 'accidentally' dropped a grenade and it 'coincidentally' rolled towards the kid. He was like eight or nine years old. His father decides to tell the kid to pick it up and throw it at us," Ghost smirked as he saw Hachiman's eyes widen. It looked like the sniper was finally catching the drift.

"You didn't!" Hachiman asked (almost a bit too loud).

"Yep. The bastard picked it up and I put like ninety rounds in his ass," Ghost said with a chuckle.

"Ninety? Uh… excuse me? Overkill much? And how the fuck did you get ninety? You'd have to reload like, what, three times?" Hachiman asked, bewildered.

"Ay, man. I had to make sure he was dead." Ghost said barely suppressing his laughter. "It was hilarious! I emptied the whole clip in him, and he was just lying there dead as shit. Then I reloaded and emptied another one in him, and then again."

Hachiman looked at him and chuckled. Both, commander and sniper shared a good laugh. "Wait, wait, wait! Tell me the dad's reaction!"

"The bitch shit his pants right there and then," Ghost told as his laughter died down. "Well, hopefully, this will stop them from using their kids against us. I don't want more soldiers to go through PTSD just because they had to kill kids because of circumstances like these." Ghost sighed. "Anyway, you better get back to your girlfriend. She's probably worrying about you now."

"Yeah, I guess. Call me when you have new orders for me." Hachiman said as he waved over his back and walked away.

 **...**

Komachi finally spotted her lover coming towards her. He had been gone for almost half an hour. Where was he? "Onii-chan! Where were you?" she asked, annoyed by his absence.

"Sorry about that," he replied with a sheepish smile, "duty calls."

Komachi immediately understood not to question any further. As she was about to reply, a loud voice broke through the crowd.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the Sobu High reunion!" Hachiman turned to face the voice and saw Hayama on the stage with a microphone. "I'm your host, Hayama Hayato and I'd like to give my personal thanks to each and every one of you for showing up. Now some of you might be wondering: why seven years later? Why such an odd number? Well, it's because this is more or less the time when most of us turn 25 and might want to reconnect with old friends." Murmurs went through the crowd, some agreeing, some disagreeing. Nonetheless, Hayama continued, "Now no one wants a boring reunion party, so I thought, 'what would my friends really love?' and well… how about a week-long, all-expenses-paid cruise to the Bahamas?! Huh?!" The whole crowd cheered loudly, save for four specific people.

And the bloodbath begins, thought Hachiman, Ghost, Haruno, and Saki simultaneously.

* * *

 **Omake**

Hachiman turned the corner and left the two alone.

"Oh, fuck me," Ghost said as his eyes went wide.

"That's right! FUCK YOU!" Haruno said and lunged. She was practically a blur as she reared her fist and clocked Ghost right in the face. The poor guy flew at least three meters through the air and crashed on his back.

"Ah, shit! Okay, I deserved that," he said as he got up and looked at the seething Haruno.

"Oh, hell no! You deserve so much more than that."

"Yes, I know. But you know what my job entails, Haruno."

"That still doesn't excuse you for disappearing on me for nine fucking years. I… I didn't even know you were alive. Just one phone call would've been enough!" Ghost looked her in the eye at that moment and started walking towards her.

"And what would I have done if someone saw that phone call? What would I have done of someone used you against me? What would I have done if I lost you?" The commander was standing right in front of Haruno, looking her in the eyes. "I'm sorry Haruno, but you know what my life is like. Duty first, wife, kids, family, everything else, after."

Haruno narrowed her eyes at him and clocked him again in the eye. The man didn't even budge. Finally, what he just said registered in her brain. Her expression morphed from an angry one into a surprised one. "Oh my, honey," she said amusingly. Haruno advanced a step, making him take one backwards. His expression looking scared. If there was one thing to fear more than an angry Haruno, it was a playful Haruno. She put a hand on her chest. "Wife?" she said as she kept advancing, making Ghost stumble and keep backing away. She brought her hand to her stomach. "Kids?" Haruno again, stepped forwards as Ghost tried to step back but his back hit the wall. She put her hand on his chest. "Family?" Haruno smiled deviously. "Sweetie… Might as well just say those magic words to me now, eh?" she added the last part, reminiscing on how she once had picked up his Canadian verbal tic.

Ghost's face morphed into a resigned expression as he let out a heavy sigh and looked his lover in the eyes once more. "You're right. I've procrastinated enough."

"Eh?" Haruno spoke intelligently. The suddenness of what her boyfriend was about to do, not yet fully developing in her head.

Ghost wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close, simultaneously capturing her lips with his own. After a long kiss (during which Haruno's arms had naturally wrapped themselves around his neck) he pulled his head away. "Haruno Yukinoshita." He spoke. "I love you. Will you marry me?"


	10. Chapter 10

**10**

* * *

 **Saki: Acquired**

* * *

Hachiman watched with disdain as his target walked off the stage after that long-ass speech about 'the next stage of life' and how 'your time will eventually come'. _Bullshit_ , Hachiman thought angrily, _in case you didn't notice, you self-centred narcissistic prick, not everyone is born with a silver spoon in their mouth_. Komachi, noticing that her brother was agitated, quickly gave his hand a squeeze and a light peck on the cheek, which thankfully quickly calmed down and lightened up.

"Thanks, Komachi. I don't know what I'd do without you," he said, smiling lovingly at her. She looked back at him, trying to suppress a grin while simultaneously blushing up a storm.

"Geez. Onii-chan, control!" she said. Hachiman, for his part merely chuckled lightly and sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. He truly loved Komachi with all his heart. She really was the best thing to ever happen to him. He would literally go up against the whole world to protect her... but at that moment he noticed something weird. Call it a sniper's sixth sense, but he knew he was being watched. But by who? Hachiman turned his head to look like he was looking towards Hayama, but he was actually searching his peripheral vision for any threats.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Saki staring at Komachi and him with a sad, melancholic expression on her face, but as soon as he was about to turn towards her, she vanished out of sight. Still, he looked at the spot she was standing at and wondered what came over her. Then, it clicked. Hachiman remembered what she told him about how all her relationships went and felt like the biggest piece of shit ever.

 _Goddammit! How can I be so stupid!? She can't even get a boyfriend who loves her, and here I am acting all lovey-dovey with Komachi. God, I'm such an asshole_ , he thought while berating himself for doing something like that. He was the most elite sniper in the world for fuck's sake. He wasn't supposed to lose his bearings like that. Much less in front of someone he viewed as a… a…

A what, exactly? Hachiman wondered. What did he think of Saki as? A sister? Nah, they were to close for that. A boss? Even more nah. A… lover? That fit the bill perfectly out of all other options but… What about Komachi? He definitely loved Komachi more. She was the first person to accept him, and the first to truly love him unconditionally. So… why did he have these feelings for Saki? And did she love him too?

"She loves you, y'know?" he heard someone say. Hachiman quickly turned his head to see who the fuck read his mind. Unsurprisingly, it was Komachi.

"Huh?" he replied, trying to play it off.

Komachi rolled her eyes at her brother's pathetic attempt to act stupid. "Saki. She really does love you. Not as a friend or a brother or something like that, but as a romantic partner," Komachi explained looking towards the stage, while Hachiman was still staring at her.

"I- I don't thin-," he began but was quickly cut off by the smiling woman he loved.

"Trust me, Onii-chan. I know a look of love when I see one. I have it every time I think about you. And I've spent more than enough time looking in the mirror, practicing how to confess to you," she said, giggling like a schoolgirl and looked at him as if he was the only person in the world – and to her, he might as well be because she'd walk through hell and back with a smile on her face for her brother. "But I guess in the end, you beat me to it."

At that moment, Hachiman couldn't have hated himself more. He felt like gouging his own heart out and offering it to the goddess standing in front of him. He silently thanked whatever higher being was up there for sending her to him and wondered what he had done in life to deserve this sort of happiness. He killed people. Innocent people even. Children too. And yet… _No! I don't deserve this_ , he thought self-loathingly.

Right then, he felt a slight pinch on his cheek and looked to see a disappointed expression on Komachi's face. "Onii-chan!" she started scolding him. "Stop wallowing in your self-hate and go after her! I know what you're thinking and it's not true! You have done a lot of good things in your life and have been through your fair share of pain and misery. Now it's your job bring someone else out of the darkness. Go!" she finished.

He gaped at, his jaw hanging loosely before what Komachi said registered in his brain. Hachiman straightened, conviction in his eyes and nodded. He quickly gave her a chaste kiss on the lips and hugged her. "I truly would be lost without you," Hachiman confessed as he turned back around and went off to find Saki.

"Damn right you would," Komachi said with a smile, as she watched the retreating back of her lover.

 **...**

Finding Saki wasn't exactly difficult. Hachiman knew her habits hadn't really changed since high school. That's why, the first place he looked for her was the roof, and sure enough, as soon as he opened the door the sound of light sobbing and sniffles made its way towards him. Hachiman walked towards her and sat down beside the woman who was now crying like a little girl. She had her knees pulled up to her chest, arms resting on them and face buried in them. He marvelled at what a sharp contrast her behaviour now, was from her personality when she was in what he had dubbed, her 'officer mode'. On one hand, you had a strong, sexy, badass, woman, and on the other – what he saw now – was a little girl, crying as if she'd lost her parents in the middle of a festival.

Hachiman opened his mouth to say something but quickly shut it again. He had no idea what to do. How the fuck was he supposed to approach this situation? Was he supposed to do it as he would with Komachi, or like he would do it as a friend, or as a subordinate? Hachiman silently sighed, deciding to just go with his gut instinct. In the end, he just thought, _Fuck it. If I die, I die_.

"What's wrong?" he asked. _Stupid! You know what's wrong! You're rubbing your relationship success in her face is what's wrong!_

After getting no answer for a few seconds he decided to ask again. "Saki, I need you to tell me what's wrong?" A few sniffles came from her as she shook her head. Great. She didn't want to tell him. How was he supposed to…? This might work. "Saki. Do you trust me?"

"Y-Yes. Of c-course, I do."

"Then you need to communicate with me. It hurts me to see you like this. This is not the Saki I know and love." The words were out of his mouth before he could even comprehend what he was saying. Damn… I am the worst scum I've ever known.

Saki moved her arm and dropped something in his lap. "This is what's fucking wrong," she said bitterly. Venom laced her voice like it would coat a cobra's fang. Hachiman picked up what looked like a phone. He looked at the screen and his face turned into a scowl. On the screen was a text from another asshole that read, '[We're just not made for each other. I'm sorry, but it's over.]'

"Another one, huh?" he asked.

"Screw this," she said in the most broken-hearted voice he had ever heard from anyone. "I'm done with dating," she answered with a defeated tone. This was one of the rare moments where Hachiman was at a loss for words.

"H-Huh? What-," he started but was quickly cut off as Saki interrupted him.

"I've decided," she turned her head so that she was looking in his eyes. Her face held a sad but genuine smile, "I'll wait until my true love accepts me. Even if I have to wait forever." NO! It just looked so wrong on her face. Why was she smiling when there were still tears rolling down her cheek!?

"I… I see." _No, I fucking don't. What the hell am I supposed to say?_ A long moment of silence stretched on before he spoke again. "So… who's the lucky guy?" he asked and then quickly added, "Of course, if you don't want to tell me, it's okay. I just… I guess I'm just being overprotective and stuff since y'know, you're someone that I'd call one of my loved ones and… uh… I don't wanna see you getting hurt. But, I mean, as long as you're fine with it I guess, I… uh…" he looked to the side to see Saki wiping her tears away. She looked back at him with an amused smile. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?" As soon as he said that, Saki broke down into peals of laughter. It really was amusing to see the awkward protective side of Hachiman. After a few moments, she calmed down and to Hachiman relief, she no longer looked like she was about to have another breakdown. "So? Who is it?" he asked again. Saki chuckled and finally replied.

"It's you, Hachiman. It's always been you." She smiled.

"Huh?" Hachiman said, intelligently as his brain with an IQ of almost over 9000 struggled to process the information. "Wait, what? Seriously?" he asked not believing her. He sighed as she nodded. "Well… shit. You have really bad judgment."

"And you're still that self-deprecating dumbass you were back then." She scolded. "Now, do accept my confession or not?"

"Saki, I…" he trailed off, not knowing what exactly to say. "I can't leave Komachi."

"I'm fine with that." She replied immediately. "I don't mind being second." Saki smiled at her love interest.

"It's not that. I would be betraying Komachi if," but before he could speak another word he was cut off by another familiar voice. The one he always heard at night. The one he woke up to in the morning. The one he would do anything for, to protect.

"And what if I say I'm okay with it?" Komachi said as she also stepped out onto the roof. "Onii-chan, I don't mind sharing, y'knoooow," she said as she walked over and plopped down on the other side of Saki, who gave her a look which conveyed a million thanks. "After all, the more the merrier. Right?" she finished with a wink.

"I…" Hachiman was once again at a loss for words. "I don't know what to say." He admitted solemnly. "You're saying you really don't mind that there's only one me and two of you? Komachi, I understand. But Saki? I mean, it's me! You know you can do much better than me." A moment of silence passed between the trio. Hachiman bracing himself for rejection, while Saki and Komachi contemplating how to convey their feelings.

Komachi closed her eyes and shook her head. This is why he needed her. Her dumbass of a brother just couldn't accept the fact that there really were people who loved him.

"Onii-chan. You're scared, aren't you?" Hachiman's eyes widened but were back to normal in less than half a second. The movement was so fast, Saki had to wonder if she only imagined it but Komachi saw it as a loud and clear confirmation of her suspicions. "You're scared that this won't last. That your heart will eventually be broken. That for some reason, this is all just a huge prank on you and we will all leave you alone. Even after I convinced you that I'm never leaving you, there is still a small sliver of suspicion in the back of your mind. Isn't there?" Hachiman bit his lip and averted his gaze. All of her deductions were spot on. Komachi had hit the nail on the head.

"Yes," he answered. No point in hiding it now. "Yes, I'm scared. I'm scared that one day you'll wake up and see that I was not worth it. I'm scared of you looking at me with that regret in your eyes which I used to see back in middle school and high school from literally the whole school. I'm scared that one day I'll wake up and see the bed empty with a note saying how this was just a mistake and that you found someone better… And I… I won't know how to handle it. Because one thing is for sure: if I really was to get betrayed by someone whom I loved with all my heart… I'd probably kill myself."

Komachi sighed once more and this time Saki joined her too. There was only one way to fix this. "Onii-chan," she said, looking directly into his eyes unflinchingly. They say the eyes are the windows to one's soul. She looking into his pits of darkness and saw incredible pain, suffering, loneliness, and despair. But underneath it all, she saw the one thing most humans these days lack. LOVE. That unyielding inferno which lit up her world every day. "I want to bear your children."

Hachiman choked up. What have I done to deserve this? I've killed countless people and yet…

"Hachiman," Saki also spoke up. "Since high school, I've looked up to you and I've loved you. If it means getting even a piece of your love, it would still be enough. I would also, like to be the mother of your children." She averted her gaze. "I-If you'd allow it, of course."

Hachiman engulfed them both in a big, tight, warm hug and clenched his eyes. Saki and Komachi looked at each other and smiled before reciprocating their lover's actions. "Thank you. Both of you." He whispered, silently vowing to never ever be ungrateful to them. He pulled away at last when he felt a little embarrassed at his outburst.

"Well, I'll be heading down now," Komachi stated. She cupped Hachiman's cheeks and gave him a deep kiss before getting up and walking to the entrance of the roof. "Don't take too long! And save the sex for the bedroom. Bye!" She disappeared behind the door, leaving a smiling Hachiman and a flustered Saki. Hachiman once again looked at his new lover, deciding on how best to proceed.

"She has a heart of gold," said Saki looking towards the door her… sister-wife? had left through. "I can only imagine what she was going through when her lover didn't return for such a long time," she said shooting an accusing glance at Hachiman.

He merely laughed and waved it off. "She's so much stronger than she looks." The atmosphere dissolved into silence once more before Saki spoke up.

"You… you really don't mind loving me and Komachi at the same time?"

Hachiman sighed and looked at her. He quickly snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her on top of him so that she was straddling him.

"H-Hachiman! What if someone sees us!"

"Doesn't matter." He cupped her cheek and pulled her into a kiss.

Saki went stiff before finally relaxing and flowing her body to meet Hachiman's. Her bountiful breasts pressed up against his chest as her arms snaked around his neck. Both lovers stayed like that for a minute, tasting and savouring each other. Finally, the need for oxygen surpassed the need for pleasure and Saki pulled back, sporting a bright blush which contrasted beautifully with her pale blue hair. This time, Saki was the one that pushed forwards and latched her luscious lips onto Hachiman's. He parted them and ran a tongue across hers and bit down gently on her lower lips. "Nnnhh!" she moaned into his mouth and parted her lips also. Hachiman, not being one to miss the opportunity, quickly slid his tongue into her mouth. And thus, the battle for dominance began. Jab, hook, dodge, hook, stretch, jab, suck… it continued for a while before Saki finally gave up and gave in to her more experienced lover. She patted Hachiman on the back to signify her surrender and the two finally pulled apart once more. A thin silver string of saliva stretched from one another's tongue and vanished as they closed their mouth. "Hah, haha." Saki gasped for oxygen and laughed. "I'm definitely going to have to throw these panties away."

"How about we wait till tonight to proceed any further, hm?" he asked quietly.

"Sure. Where?"

"My apartment."

"Komachi?"

He grinned. "She'll join us."

Once again, Saki blushed like no tomorrow before furiously nodding.

"Haha, looks like someone is eager to get their brains screwed inside out."

Saki chuckled. "I've waited so long for this. Nothing is going to stop me." She once again started making out with Hachiman. "I love you. I love you so much."

"I love you too, princess," he replied, making her smile again.

Today was the best day yet, for Saki.


End file.
